From the Chief Executive
Kia ora tātou,
Thank you for your positive response to the October issue of HPSNZ Update. The aim of this monthly email is to keep us connected and informed so we’d love to hear your feedback on how we can continue to improve it along with topics you may want to hear about. Email us at info@hpsnz.org.nz.
It’s an exciting time for our athletes, coaches and support teams working towards the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in early 2022. Congratulations to those recently named to the New Zealand Team, and best wishes to athletes targeting selection in the coming weeks.
Funding and investment decisions are top of mind for us all right now. I’d like to acknowledge and thank NSOs for the hard work they’re putting in as we come together this month to discuss investment that will support the ongoing success of their high performance programmes.
We’ve made a strategic shift to deliver funding through the new Targeted Investment Framework, Tailored Athlete Support (TAPS) and the Aspirational Fund, and we appreciate the collaborative spirit we’re seeing from both existing and potential new partner NSOs as we work through investment decisions within this new framework.
In saying this, we understand the pressure sports are under in dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, which has caused operational uncertainty and impacted workloads for many months now. As an organisation we are committed to working sensitively to minimise additional pressures and doing what we can to advocate and support the sector in the implementation of the new protection framework.
Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa – Let us keep close together, not wide apart.
Finally, a reminder that applications are currently open to athletes, coaches, support staff and officials for Prime Minister’s Scholarships – the programme that supports educational and professional development. Please continue reading for key dates and a link to apply.
Ngā mihi
Raelene
New thinking, new skills, new hope – Crossroads 2021
Positive feedback from participants has highlighted the success of Crossroads 2021, High Performance Sport New Zealand’s recent online event designed to support athletes navigating transitions following pinnacle events in Tokyo.
Open conversations with athlete alumni and peers, and inspirational keynote speakers were well received by athletes at a time when many have opportunities, challenges and decisions in front of them. This year the two-day Crossroads event was held online due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Q&A with Tracey Paterson – ’I feel like sport has been my life’
Originating from rural Southland, Tracey Paterson has lived and breathed sport all her life – now she’s helping drive High Performance Sport New Zealand towards greater regional connection in her role as Head of Performance Pathways.
Question: What role has sport played in your life?
Tracey: I feel like sport has been my life – as an athlete, as a coach, as a manager, as a practitioner, as an administrator, and as a mother. I started in athletics in a small rural community in Southland. We had a fantastic coach at the local secondary school who built a squad – we had fun, we got better at what we did, and we travelled around the country. It inspired my later decisions. We’ve moved around the country a lot and when you’re involved in sport you get connected and feel a part of the community quickly. It’s the New Zealand way.
Innovation Research – tackling the big questions to advance performance
The High Performance Sport New Zealand [HPSNZ] Innovation team are preparing to delve deeper and uncover new levers to performance gains across multiple sports. Additional funding and resource are set to expand their work into research-focused innovation, and NSOs have a key role to play.
Simon Briscoe, Head of Innovation at HPSNZ explains that the new area of work is about finding answers that will have the greatest impact in helping sports and their athletes perform better.
Privacy matters – important information for athletes and coaches
HPSNZ is always looking to improve its processes and will soon publish an Athlete Coach Privacy Statement to provide greater clarity and transparency around the information collected and stored by HPSNZ, and how it will be used.
This represents a shift away from the traditional practice of athletes signing a Privacy and Confidentiality Standard when they are first carded. Instead, the statement will be published online along with FAQs to help athletes and coaches better understand how we handle their personal information – and to ensure that information is always easily accessible.
