Potential Changes Afoot For The Wellington Sport And Recreation Awards

Nuku Ora, organisers of the Wellington Sport and Recreation Awards, have ‘paused’ the event, traditionally delivered in June, to enable a robust consultation and review process to take place.

This review will establish how future events might be structured and delivered to ensure the organisation's diverse range of stakeholders and communities are represented.

CEO of Nuku Ora, Andrew Leslie said “We know that the awards are highly valued, especially by some of our stakeholders. As an organisation representing physical activity across play, active recreation, and sport, we want to meet the needs of all of our stakeholders and consider how the awards can be more reflective of Nuku Ora’s purpose, vision and strategy and working closely with communities facing barriers to participating and experiencing all the benefits of being active.”

Nuku Ora is aware that similar discussions are taking place within other Regional Sports Trusts across the country regarding the format and delivery of their awards.

Research and insights on a national level are leading these discussions, giving context to the changing nature of physical activity in New Zealand and, subsequently Wellington.

When the organisation evolved from Sport Wellington to Nuku Ora in 2021, the name change helped to encapsulate the changing organisational objectives and reflects their new vision of "Hauora. Everyone active, healthy, and happy."

Throughout this change process, Nuku Ora consulted with industry leaders and the communities they serve. To reflect the change happening in the sector, the organisation's scope was broadened to include play, active transport, active recreation as well as sport, which is the leading rationale behind the event review.

“It is still our intention for Nuku Ora to be the organisers of an event that recognises physical activity and hauora within our communities – just what that will look like and when that will happen is the opportunity for us to explore”, Leslie said.

As part of the review process, Nuku Ora will be consulting with key stakeholders and sector leaders over the coming months.

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