COVID-19 has impacted our world and the way we play, enjoy physical activity, compete in sport and take part in events.

Against this backdrop of uncertainty and change, Sport NZ is thinking ahead to ensure all those living in Aotearoa New Zealand continue to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of staying physically active. We want to ensure the sector remains resilient, focused on the needs of the community and adaptable to ongoing change.

The sector had an opportunity to contribute to the Futures Project via an online five-question survey which talked about the barriers and challenges that exist in the current play, active recreation and sport system, what the sector wants to see for the future system and how we might get there. The survey ran from Thursday 29 September 2020 to Tuesday 27 October 2020 and had 439 responses.

The five-question survey developed to seek sector feedback had the following questions:

1. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the current system to get New Zealanders physically active and engaged in play, active recreation and sport is working as effectively as it should?
2. What barriers or challenges are preventing the current system from working more effectively? 
3. Please explain what your ideal play, active recreation and sport system would look like in 15 years' time (2035).  Please tell us specifically about any features that would make it different from today's system.
4. Thinking about this ideal system, which actions, initiatives or trends are you aware of today that could help get us there?
5. Which innovations will speed up the time it takes to reach this ideal system?

Views from the sector on how we strengthen and protect our sport and recreation system are an important and valued aspect of this consultation work. The key findings from this survey, which was run by the market research company Kantar, can be found here.