Kia ora koutou, 

Wherever you are in Aotearoa, we hope you have been able to make the most of the long weekends, keeping active with friends and whānau.  

Being in the RED setting and dealing with Omicron means we’ve not had the start to 2022 we may have hoped for. We acknowledge that operational planning, particularly around events, is very challenging and we continue to communicate these challenges to the Minister. 

We know everyone has their specific community and the participant front of mind and I would like to thank you all for pushing through the many challenges to make sport and recreation happen safely for the benefit of all New Zealanders. Physical activity continues to be an important foil to support our overall wellbeing during these uncertain times. Looking ahead, there is plenty to look forward to this year with Beijing 2022 already providing inspiring moments over the last few days (Zoi bought a smile to all our faces) and two World Cups just around the corner. Closer to home, work also continues around the Governance and Organisational Review of the Sport NZ Group, as well as the Integrity Working Group which you can read an update on below. 

We are continuing to update our COVID-19 Protection Framework guidance and FAQs regularly with the latest information we have to hand, including new guidelines on face mask use and the recent border announcement. You can view these on our Sport NZ website here.

Please continue to reach out if you have any questions. Sport NZ is here to help. 

Ngā mihi, 
Raelene Castle 

Integrity Working Group Update
In December 2020 an independent Integrity Working Group was commissioned by Sport NZ to explore the most appropriate structure to manage the various elements of integrity across the sport sector, and accommodate the 22 recommendations from the 2020 Integrity Review. The Working Group was tasked with assessing the current institutional arrangements relating to Drug Free Sport NZ, the Sports Tribunal, the integrity function within Sport NZ and any independent services funded by Sport NZ such as the Sport and Recreation Mediation Service.  

The Working Group met regularly throughout 2021 and consulted widely across the sector, including hearing from representatives of Drug Free Sport NZ, the Children’s Commissioner, the Human Rights Commissioner, the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Sport Integrity Australia, athlete representatives, integrity experts and authorities with an ethnic and bicultural focus.  

The Working Group is now at a point where they have developed two specific options for further consideration. These options will undergo feasibility testing and further consultation before a final report is prepared for the Sport NZ Board in April. The report was originally scheduled to be complete in December 2021, however complications with COVID-19 have meant this has taken longer than originally expected. 

The members of the Working Group and full terms of reference can be found here. 

Integrity webinar: Match-fixing in New Zealand Sport
We are hosting a special webinar on Thursday 17 February at 7pm looking into match-fixing in New Zealand sport, including how and where this happens, what to look out for and how people involved in sport can help combat this. We recommend this session for anyone involved in sport at a club, school or representative level, and encourage you to share it within your network.  

The webinar will feature Barrister Andrew Scott-Howman, who is also a member of the expert panel on the Sport and Recreation Complaints and Mediation Service.   

Register here. 

Community Spotlight: Sports-based holiday camp a hit with migrant families
An Auckland-based active holiday camp has proven so successful its young Asian migrant participants can’t wait for the next one.  The camp was run by the CNSST Foundation (formerly known as Chinese New Settlers Services Trust) with help from Tū Manawa funding through Sport Auckland.  

CNSST identified a need for participation in sport from a community survey, which found more than 20 percent of children either exercised once a week or not at all, due to the barriers of time, transport and costs. Read more.

New dates announced for the 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport
Due to border restrictions into New Zealand, the decision was made to postpone the 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport by six months to 14-17 November 2022. The in-person event will still take place in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and now dovetail into the end of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, also taking place in the city during November. New registrations are on hold until the event is relaunched this month. For more information visit here.

New dates for Recreation Conference 2022 
With Aotearoa now in the red traffic light setting, Recreation Aotearoa have made the decision to postpone the February conference to 23-25 November 2022. The conference venue remains in Nelson’s Rutherford Hotel. For further information visit here.

Manawakura: Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti’s approach to Healthy Active Learning 
At the heart of Healthy Active Learning lies local approaches that meet the needs, wants and aspirations of communities. This video is a great example of what this co-design looks like for the people of Tairāwhiti - Manawakura: A focus on community wellbeing.

Effects of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult participation in Aotearoa 
At the end of 2021, Sport NZ released Effects of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult participation in Aotearoa. This Active NZ COVID-19 report focusses on changing participation throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic from April 2020 through to April 2021, when New Zealand was in its first nationwide lockdown at Alert Level 1. 

Key findings include: 

• Adult participation has not rebounded to pre-COVID-19 levels. 
• Weekly participation has dropped by 3.4 percent 
• Average number of hours spent being physically active has dropped by 15.6 percent 
• Average number of sports and activities participated in has dropped by 22.1 percent.
• The proportion of adults meeting the physical activity guidelines has dropped by 8.3 percent. 
• Variation is evident in the effects of COVID-19 by population sub-groups. 

See the full research report here.

Improving our nationwide participation survey, Active New Zealand 
We now have a new research partner to provide our Active New Zealand survey – Kantar Public (formerly Colmar Brunton) and have made some improvements to the survey process. We want to increase response rates, especially amongst rangatahi. The changes include shorter versions of the survey, additional incentives for rangatahi and an updated design of the survey invitations and reminders.  

To find out more, please come to an online drop-in session. Register your interest for a session at intelligenceteam@sportnz.org.nz and we’ll let you know further details.  

Last chance: Youth leadership and engagement survey – closes Friday 11 February
Does your organisation/group deliver or support the delivery of a youth leadership programme? Do you engage youth in decisions that affect them? If so, we would like to hear from you. It’s your last chance to tell us what programmes are out there, who they are for, and how rangatahi  (young people 12-18 years) are educated about leadership and influence.  

Please fill out the brief survey by following this link before Friday 11 February (it should take 5-10 minutes to complete).