High Value Outdoor Recreation Deserves Greater Government Respect

The Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of New Zealand (CORANZ) believes a recent survey of sports underlines the importance of outdoor sports plus the need for government to show greater respect to the outdoor environment. CORANZ’s co-chairman Andi Cockroft said the 2013-14 survey by Sport NZ clearly indicated outdoor recreation sports like fishing, walking, tramping, canoeing and hunting were on the rise in terms of participation levels. On the other hand, sports like rugby and cricket which tended to receive comparatively greater funding had shown declines in participation.

“Governments should be duty bound to show respect for the outdoor environment and its associated recreation,” he said.

However in recent years the poor state of many rivers with some 60% of those assessed rated unfit for swimming showed that development such as corporate dairying seemed to command greater consideration by politicians.

“Governments cannot afford to sweep such situations such as dirty rivers or foreign ownership restricting outdoor access, under the carpet. It’s the public’s outdoors recreation field. In addition outdoor recreation improves the physical health and mental well being of people, a long term saving in health services and other costs.”

Andi Cockcroft said the value of outdoor recreation to young people was obvious with both self esteem and physical benefits resulting, invaluable to combatting rising obesity rates.

The survey results showed leisure and outdoor sporting activities ranked very highly. Walking ranked top with both men and women (47% and 72% respectively) while fishing whether saltwater or freshwater, ranked 5th with men at 29%. Other outdoor recreation sports that featured prominently were tramping, hunting and canoeing.

In addition those outdoor recreation pursuits showed increased levels of participation in contrast to the decreases of “glamour” funded sports like golf, tennis, football, cricket and basketball.

Fishing ranked as the 3rd most popular activity with those of Maori ancestry. And Cockcroft said it was pleasing to see women featuring in outdoor sports like fishing. Fishing rated as the second most popular activity with men and 9th with women. The outdoors featured strongly in all age groups in sports such as walking, cycling, fishing and tramping.

The survey by virtue of the high outdoor recreation participation rates, underlined the public nature of the country’s outdoors.

“It all reflects the wisdom of the European settlers who seeking to escape the class structure of the UK where the best salmon and trout rivers and deerstalking is tied up in private estates where only the upper class can by wealth access it, made sure New Zealanders can enjoy reasonable free access. That egalitarian ethos is embodied in many laws particularly around freshwater fish and waterfowl and game bird shooting, commonly known as fish and game.”

Economically outdoor recreation attracted both domestic (New Zealanders) and international tourists and injected economic activity into regions outside of the four major urban centres.

“Government backing and investing in outdoor recreation is a sin for New Zealand on several fronts such as social, health, tourism, environmental and economic,” he said.

ENDS

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