What are we doing right?

Other countries want to know the secrets of Kiwi success. Photo / Mark Mitchell

If imitation is indeed the best form of flattery, then New Zealand elite sport is in a good space.

New Zealand's high performance sporting systems are catching the eye, with delegations from across the globe visiting this country to watch, listen and learn.

High Performance Sport New Zealand unveiled their 2015-16 investment strategy last week, as our elite sportspeople build towards the 2016 Rio Olympics.

As always, there were some controversial decisions - swimming, triathlon and snow sports received extremely generous funding considering their recent performances and future prospects - but there can't be any argument about New Zealand's current position in the sporting world.

Something special is brewing here and other countries want to know the recipe.

"Until 2012, we were under the radar to a degree," HPSNZ chief executive Alex Baumann said. "We were known for great achievements but London [13 medals, including six golds] took things to a new level. People started to notice the New Zealand system. We had had a focused, targeted approach since 2006 but the results in 2012 really made people sit up and take notice. It opened their eyes."

Over the last 18 months, HPSNZ have hosted delegations from seven countries, including Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan. Baumann has also been invited to speak at numerous overseas conferences.

There's a lot of interest in New Zealand's targeted funding system. HPSNZ allocates funding according to four different tiers, from rowing, cycling and sailing in the top tier, to snow sports and paralympics in the fourth.

"Having a narrow focus is still quite unique," Baumann said. "Many other countries take a more egalitarian approach. The Dutch have been very successful but they still have to support more than 60 sports."

Aside from interest in our training and performance systems, our rivals also want to know about the integration between key stakeholders (as an example, HPSNZ, Sport New Zealand and the New Zealand Olympic Committee) and the innovative Prime Minister's scholarships and performance enhancement grants.

There has also been interest in the new Black Gold programme, revealed by the Herald on Sunday last week, which seeks to drive increased private investment in sports, especially from expatriate Kiwis.

But how open can New Zealand afford to be? Some countries are notorious for acquiring information and then overtaking their rivals so New Zealand need to be cautious.

"We have to be careful what we give away," Baumann said. "Anything on the innovation side is not something we would share because that is a competitive advantage for us. We believe in sharing information but it has to be a win-win situation.

"I think there is a line we have to draw. I don't believe we can work in isolation because we don't know it all so it is always good to discuss things. On other occasions, it can validate things for us, that we are going in the right direction. But we also don't want to give away important intellectual property."