Nine Sports Selected in Talent Development Programme

15 December 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nine Sports Selected in 2018 Wellington City Council Sports Talent Development Programme

Sport Wellington is excited to announce the following nine sports that have been accepted as part of the 2018 Wellington City Council funded Sports Talent Development Programme. The successful sporting organisations for 2018 are: Badminton Wellington Inc., Dynomites Sport Climbing, Fencing Central, Capital Football, Wellington Hockey, Netball Wellington Centre, Central Rowing, Volleyball Wellington, and Swimming Wellington.

The sports selected are aligned with the Sport NZ National Talent Strategy focusing on building systems, structures and processes that help nurture talent, and helping young athletes realise their potential in sport and in life.

“We are proud to be associated with the Sports Talent Development Programme; it is a fantastic programme that any emerging athlete in the region can aspire to become a part of. Since our involvement in the programme we have seen more and more athletes from Wellington representing New Zealand at an international level”, says Councilor Simon Woolf.

The Wellington City Council Talent Development Programme supports a number of talent development projects aligned to the national and regional sporting organisations. In 2017, sixteen applications were received with nine sports successful in securing funding to support a range of initiatives. These initiatives include; research into performance measures, development of processes for individual performance planning, as well as access to specialist services such as athlete life advice, nutrition and strength and conditioning.

Over the last four years the programme has transformed from being an outcome-based investment to become a process-lead investment associated with developing talent and effective Talent Development environments. The programme is focused on creating effective learning environments enabling athletes to gather information that they can then take into their context, practice it, reflect on it, and ultimately grow as athletes and people.

Mark Watson, Sport Wellington’s Performance Hub Senior Advisor states, “The impact of this approach is starting to come to fruition with athletes, parents and coaches now fully integrated into this process alongside staff associated with the Regional Sports Organisation’s (RSO) performance programmes.”

Also associated to the 2018 programme, Sport Wellington will continue to work with Wellington Golf and Athletics Wellington in developing their talent programs by continuing the great work that has been going on within these sports over the last two to three years.

Netball Wellington Centre General Manager Sue Geale says “We can’t thank you and the team from Sport Wellington and Wellington City Council enough for the support you have provided these girls with through the funding towards the Emerging Talent Programme. It has been instrumental towards these girls achieving this (high) level of performance and one that I know they are hungry to take even higher given the opportunity.”

ENDS

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