HPSNZ General Manager of Wellbeing and Leadership Emily Downes says participants included people from a wide range of podium and aspirational sports.
“It was fantastic to be able to bring athletes, coaches, high performance directors, chief executives and support staff together and benefit from the diverse voices and perspectives in the room,” she says.
“When it comes to how best to support wellbeing in high performance sport we are all learning and the best way forward is to share experiences and perspectives and move forward together.
“Our goal is to develop a common understanding and a co-ordinated approach to wellbeing for all so that performance and wellbeing can coexist without compromise.”
Emily says the hui was an opportunity to stimulate cross sport discussions that will lead to enhanced support for the wellbeing of individuals, organisations within the sector and across the system.
“Participants really valued hearing from sectors outside sport such as the NZ Police and NZ Defence Force who have developed and implemented wellbeing strategies,” Emily says.
“I received plenty of feedback on the value of looking outside the sport sector, understanding their challenges, what they have done, how they have done it, their learnings and how they might apply to high performance sport.”
The vision for wellbeing in high performance sport is to create enriching performance environments that empower and support individuals to reach their potential and enhance their ability to thrive in their sporting and non-sporting lives.
The hui also provided participants with an opportunity to work together to reflect on their own environments in relation to the three agreed principles that underpin enriching performance environments: transparency, inclusion and continuous growth.
“It provided an opportunity for some real cross sport discussions about what is working well and where are the areas and opportunities for improvement.” Emily says.
The insights shared by those present will be collated and used to inform ongoing Wellbeing and Engagement discussions and initiatives with specific sports and across the high performance sport sector.
