Empowering Young Wellington Athletes to Pursue Their Goals
8 May 2023
The Wellington City Council (WCC) 2023 Sport Development Programme kicked off last week with over 50 people attending the information evening. Held at the New Zealand Institute of Sport, athletes and their parents and coaches heard from Becky Jones at The Performance Pantry, Suzie Muirhead from Raise my Game and Davie Gray of Flow State (all facilitators of the programme) to gain insightful information into what they will learn over the next 6 months.
Funded by WCC and delivered by Nuku Ora, the programme supports and develops up-and-coming Wellington secondary school athletes (year 11-13) from across a wide range of codes and is designed to empower these athletes to actively pursue their goals in sport and in life.
Guided by the Balance is Better principles, the programme focuses on the holistic development of athletes and will provide experiences and opportunities for the participants that will influence their performance not only in sport but also in life.
The WCC Programme has been running in partnership with Nuku Ora since 2007. Up until 2023, the programme was targeted specifically at Regional Sports Organisations that applied for funding to support specific initiatives and athletes in their sport. Alongside continued funding for sports organisations, this year the programme has opened up to provide the opportunity for individual athletes to be involved.
At no cost to the athlete, they will receive:
- An Individual Performance Plan (IPP) via the Raise My Game Training
- Physical Movement screening (if required from IPP)
- Access to health and well-being workshops
- Access to mental skills workshops
- Access to strength and conditioning fundamentals (if required from IPP)
- Talks from professional/elite athletes from within the Wellington region (TBC)
17 sports are represented in the 2023 programme by 24 individual athletes. The sports they represent are Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Cross Country, Equestrian, Floorball, Football, Futsal, Hockey, Karate, Netball, Rugby, Swimming, Tennis, Touch and Volleyball.
In addition, six sports are receiving funding support:
- Wellington Hockey Association
- Squash Wellington
- Netball Wellington Centre
- Bowls Wellington
- Wellington Softball
- Fencing Central
Athletes that are involved in the six sport programmes will also be invited to attend the individual athlete workshops. This means that over 100 Wellington rangatahi athletes will benefit from the WCC Sport Development programme this year.
