Sport and Recreation

I was recently involved in an online focus group answering questions about the guidelines for the proposed Integrity Sport and Recreation Commission, created by the The Integrity Sport and Recreation Bill to strengthen and protect the integrity of New Zealand’s sport and recreation sector. It was a valuable exercise for me as I have long held views about the way sport and recreation are managed in New Zealand- brought about by my long involvement in windsurfing, including 9 years as President of Windsurfing NZ. To help give feedback I wrote down my thoughts on how the sport and recreation sector could be managed based onRead More →

I had the opportunity to contribute my story to this study –  Lifelong outdoor enthusiasts’ engagement with nature-based activities later in life. I owe so much to my outdoor activities and strongly believe the government should be making public recreation a higher priority than high performance sport for both physical and mental long term benefits. Covid-19 and lockdown highlighted this in so many ways. Sport ground to a halt. Organised team and group activities, gathering in facilities, spectating – all suffered, but in response everyone started walking, cycling and post level 4 we started exploring activities that didn’t require facilities, teams, organisations – just getRead More →