Stefan Pishief highlights sport’s role in mental health post-Cyclone Gabrielle

Iraia Maaka (left), Taryne Papuni, Ripeka Poi and Hineaira Maaka, members of Waiapu Rugby Club/Sub-Union and Te Uranga o te Ra Sports and Recreation Club, with Josie McClutchie's photograph of themselves and other rugby players at George Nepia Memorial Park, Rangitukia. McClutchie's Out of the Darkness exhibition was part of the Sport in a Changing Climate research symposium held in Gisborne. Picture / Wynsley Wrigley

Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti chief executive Stefan Pishief says sport and recreation has a positive impact on mental wellbeing and should be regarded as a “must-have” rather than a “nice-to-have” during recovery from major weather events.

Pishief, speaking at the Sport in a Changing Climate research symposium held recently at the Midway Surf Rescue Community Hub, said sport and recreation “fell down the pecking order” after Cyclone Gabrielle as the recovery focused on infrastructure requirements.

It was not a priority then “but we saw people in our community – they needed to be active”, he said.

“They were wanting to do the activities they love. They were wanting to reconnect with one another. It was huge for wellbeing and their mental health in order to get through a crisis.”

Pishief said Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti faced a dilemma.

“How do we keep raising the prominence of how important sport and recreation is? It’s not just a nice-to-have; it’s actually a must-have as well.”

Pishief said Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti acted as a co-funder during the recovery with funders happy for the organisation to have a distributor role.

That co-funding system, with support from Trust Tairāwhiti, Eastern Central Community Trust, the Department of Internal Affairs and Sport New Zealand, allowed streamlined funding to get to where it was needed quickly and without duplication.

It was an effective model and one “we would like to see continue in normal times”.

Pishief said three key areas needed funding.

REPLACING DAMAGED FACILITIES OR EQUIPMENT

Many groups “ran on the smell of an oily rag” and had no insurance or limited insurance. It would remain an issue with insurance premiums rising. The sector could look at the “opportunity” of collective premiums for a range of groups under one body.

DEMAND FOR FUNDS FOR TRAVELLING AND ACCOMMODATION

Pishief said this particularly applied to tamariki and rangatahi who, because of Covid-19, had missed out on events they had worked on for years.

FUNDING FOR ‘POSITIVE’ EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY

Pishief said organisations wanted to put on events for people who were “flat and down”. Hundreds of thousands of dollars “got out of the door extremely quickly that way”. Normal processes such as funding applications were thrown out.

Pishief said if such a system could be used in a time of crisis, could it be used at a time of business as usual?

There was still accountability “at the end” in determining how the money was spent.

New Zealand Community Trust “came to the party” with about $250,000 and other national sporting funders had supported the Pay Half, Play Hard programme, which cut fees in half for winter sports after the cyclone.

There were concerns participation rates would fall after Cyclone Gabrielle but every sport that received funding, except football, reported an increase, he said.

Pishief began his address by saying it was amazing to see the symposium being held in Tairāwhiti.

He said climate change was a global issue.

“But here, for us, unfortunately, our beautiful region of Tairāwhiti has become the poster child for the negative impacts of climate change over the last few years.”

The region has been hit by 16 extreme weather events since 2017, an average of two a year in a region previously known for its golden weather.

Pishief thanked Professor Holly Thorpe of the University of Waikato for bringing the symposium to Tairāwhiti.

Thorpe, originally from Gisborne, and her research team, including project manager and Gisborne photographer Josie McClutchie, set out to understand how recent flooding events were impacting the wellbeing of rangatahi living in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne.

Using focus groups and photographic co-creation, the research project examined how local youth were making meaning of recent extreme weather events, the impact on their families and community, and their hopes and concerns for the future.

The day before the symposium, McClutchie held her Out of the Darkness photographic exhibition at the Midway hub.