The New Zealand Olympic Committee (before 1994, The ''New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association'') is both the National Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Association in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

responsible for selecting athletes to represent New Zealand in the

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, ...

and

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

and the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

. While a founder member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

, New Zealand did not send its own team to compete until the Games of the VI Olympiad ( Antwerp

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own m ...

), though at the

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

and

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ** German geophysicist Alfred ...

Summer Olympics New Zealand and Australia competed as "Australasia". New Zealand has sent a team to every Summer Olympic Games since 1920, though only a token team of four went to the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

at Moscow due to the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict s ...

. New Zealand first competed at the Winter Olympics in 1952, but did not compete in the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

Winter Olympics. New Zealand has sent a team to every Commonwealth Games since the first in 1930, which was held in Canada and then called the

British Empire Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. They are held every four years, in between the Olympic Games.

Membership

The NZOC (New Zealand Olympic Committee) is a member of the

and the

Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is governing body of th ...

Emblem

The NZOC emblem consisting of a depiction of a

silver fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term f ...

(New Zealand's sporting emblem) superimposed on the Olympic Rings was created as a marketing symbol in 1979 (which was initially in all-white on a black background). It was first publicly used at an Olympic Games at the Games of the XXII Olympiad (Moscow 1980, in which observers thought that the fern was an olive branch of peace)—New Zealand competed under this flag to protest the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

. It went to its current coloured version in 1994.

International Olympic Committee

The NZOC (New Zealand Olympic Committee) is the National Olympic Committee for New Zealand. The NZOC was founded in 1911 and recognised by the IOC in 1919. Former New Zealand members of the International Olympic Committee are: * Leonard Cuff (1894–1905) 1st, one of the founding members (also Australia) * Richard Coombes (1912–1919) 2nd (also Australia) * Arthur A. Marryatt (1919–1923) 3rd * Joseph Firth, CMG (1923–1927) 4th * Lt-Col

Bernard Freyberg Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the List of Governors-General ...

, VC, CMG, DSO (1928–1930) 5th *

Cecil J. Wray Cecil James Wray (1867–1955) was a New Zealand sports administrator, resident in England from 1913. He represented New Zealand on the International Olympic Committee from 1931 to 1934, and was on the Rugby Football Union in England for 25 ye ...

(1931–1934) 6th *

Sir Arthur Porritt Colonel Arthur Espie Porritt, Baron Porritt, (10 August 1900 – 1 January 1994) was a New Zealand physician, military surgeon, statesman and athlete. He won a bronze medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in the 100 m sprint. He served as the ...

, Bt GCMG CBE (1934–1967) 7th * Sir Lance Cross, CBE (1969–1987) 8th * Sir Tay Wilson, KNZM OBE (1988–2006) 9th * Barbara Kendall, MBE (Oceania athletes' representative from 2005 to 2008) 10th * Barry Maister CNZM (2010–2018) 11th * Barbara Kendall CNZM MBE (2011–2016) 12th Current International Olympic Committee (IOC) members are: * Sarah Walker (Athletes' representative since 2016)

Governance

The NZOC is governed by a board that is headed by a president. Five of the board members are elected by the general assembly. The two IOC members plus an athletes' representative complete the board. Since November 2022, the president is

Liz Dawson Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Pulit ...

. Presidents *

(2022–present) * Mike Stanley CNZM (2009–2022) * Sir Eion Edgar KNZM (acting 2001–2003; elected 2003–2009) * John Davies MBE (active 2000–2001; formal but not acting 2001–2003) *Hon. Sir David Beattie GCMG GCVO KBE QSO QC (1989–2000)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control

New Zealand at the Olympics

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...