Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) (
Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand
Crown entity responsible for governing
sport and recreation in New Zealand
Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, basketball, horse racing and netball, which are primarily played in Commo ...
.
Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of
New Zealand's culture
The culture of New Zealand is a synthesis of home-grown and imported cultures. The country's earliest inhabitants brought with them customs and language from Polynesia, and during the centuries of isolation, developed their own Māori and Morio ...
and way of life. The organisation believes whether New Zealanders are playing, coaching, refereeing, volunteering, managing or supporting – the power of sport helps bind communities and the nation together. The organisation also believes sport enriches the economy, improves wellbeing, helps children’s bodies and minds develop, and it makes people more resilient as communities and individuals.
With this in mind, Sport NZ’s vision is to ensure that all New Zealanders have access to sport wherever they live, whoever they are and whatever their ability. The organisation’s wants to see more kids and more adults in sport and recreation, and more winners on the world stage through their subsidiary
High Performance Sport New Zealand, which deals with
elite athletes.
Sport NZ's vision is 'Everyone, every day, enjoying and excelling though sport and recreation. Sport NZ's mission is 'Creating a sport and recreation environment where more New Zealanders participate, support and win. To achieve these, Sport NZ takes a lead role by providing direction to all sports organisations and challenging the sport and recreation sector to continually improve. They work to help their partners, such as national and regional sports organisations or regional sports trusts, strive to reach their fullest potential for the good of all New Zealanders.
Legislation and functions
The principal governing legislation of Sport NZ is the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Act 2002. As a Crown entity, it is responsible to the Minister of Sport and Recreation via its board of directors.
Section 8 of the Act sets out the functions of Sport New Zealand as the following:
* Develop and implement national policies and strategies for physical recreation and sport
* Allocate funds to organisations and regional bodies in line with its policies and strategies
* Promote and advocate the importance of participation in physical activity by all New Zealanders for their health and well-being
* Promote and disseminate research relevant to physical recreation and sport
* Provide advice to the Minister on issues relating to physical recreation and sport
* Promote and support the development and implementation of physical recreation and sport in a way that is culturally appropriate to
Māori
* Encourage participation in physical recreation and sport by Pacific peoples,
women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
, older New Zealanders, and
people with disabilities
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...
* Recognise the role of physical recreation and sport in the rehabilitation of people with disabilities
* Facilitate the resolution of disputes between persons or organisations involved in physical recreation and sport
* Work with schools, regional, central, and local government, and physical recreation and sports organisations to ensure the maintenance and development of the physical and organisational infrastructure for physical recreation and sport
* Work with health, education, and other agencies to promote greater participation in physical recreation and sport through policy development, advocacy, and support, in line with the objectives of the New Zealand health strategy
* Provide advice and support for organisations working in physical recreation and sport at national, regional, and local levels
* Facilitate co-ordination between national, regional, and local physical recreation and sport organisations
* Represent the
Government’s policy interests in physical recreation and sport internationally.
High Performance Sport New Zealand
High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) is the subsidiary of Sport New Zealand responsible for governing New Zealand's
high performance sport High performance sport or elite sport is sport at the highest level of competition.
In sports administration, "high-performance sport", where the emphasis is on winning prestigious competitions, is distinguished from "mass sport" or "recreational ...
programme. It was formed in 2011 following the merger of Sport New Zealand's high performance unit with the country's two academies of sport.
References
External links
Sport New Zealand official siteHigh Performance Sport New Zealand official site
{{NZ Sport
Sports governing bodies in New Zealand
New Zealand Crown agents