Taupō Kiwisport helps kids get involved in events like the Taupo Rippa Rugby Carnival.
Taupō Kiwisport helps kids get involved in events like the Taupo Rippa Rugby Carnival.
A Taupō organisation giving Kiwi kids access to sports shows no sign of slowing down in its mission to get students moving.
Taupō KiwiSport works with clubs and schools in the district to bring a plethora of sporting opportunities to primary-aged students.
As well as connecting kids with classic New Zealand sports like rugby and cricket, the programme aims to give students a chance to find an activity they love, working with local clubs like Taupō Disc Golf and Taupō Orienteering Club.
Co-ordinator Sue Maclean said Taupō Kiwisport and local sports clubs were all passionate about helping every young person find their niche.
“Smaller clubs are very much part of our community and sometimes they target kids who are not that sporty - we see kids at those events who we don’t see at the other events.
Administrator Viv Andrews said the SAC was determined to ensure the future of the schools’ programme.
“Our organisation felt so strongly that this programme should continue that we sought funding.
“What it’s doing is delivering sport to primary school children in school hours ... it’s delivering opportunities for kids to experience different sports, all sports, and it’s also for the clubs to help them to expand.
“Once [Sport Waikato] withdrew, we had to decide ‘Are we going to stick it out?’.
“We just decided we still needed to be an organisation that made a difference.
“The KiwiSport programme hung in there.”
Taupō Kiwisport helps students try out new sports with other organisations, like Ki-o-Rahi with Youthtown.
The initiative has been a resounding success, said Maclean, reaching every primary student in the area.
“When we started, I was working with seven schools, now we work with 18.
“We go out to Pinelands ... we’re in Tūrangi, Kuratau, the intermediate and we’ve just signed up Wharewaka full [te reo Māori] immersion school.
“We’ve got all the schools in the district now participating.
“Now it’s the relationship building and the networking that’s really helping it to grow.”
There had been a positive impact on the number of students signing up for sports both in and out of school, said Andrews.
“There’s a huge uptake in girls playing rugby and cricket.”
The Taupō programme had been making waves across the country too, with its successes catching the attention of other organisations.
An orienteering event attended by 450 people was one example.
“The local [orienteering] club was saying the national organisation in Auckland got in touch and said ‘How have you got so many involved in Taupō, when we’ve just held an event in Auckland and got 180?’.
“We’ve got people coming in to see what we’re doing.”
Not resting on their laurels, Taupō Kiwisport is working on further ways to engage young people, including organising a Halberg Foundation festival later this year.
The festival will give students with physical disabilities a chance to get active, and the organisation has also facilitated training to help teachers empower their disabled students.
Maclean said she attributes their success to the fact KiwiSport makes sports available to all children, regardless of their abilities or backgrounds.
“By doing in-school delivery, you’re tapping into kids that may not be given the opportunity once school hours finish, and that is probably the best thing about the Kiwisport programme.”
Milly Fullick is a journalist based in Taupō. She joined the Taupō & Tūrangi Herald team in 2022.
