Sport Whanganui: Building pathways to wellbeing for communities

Sport Whanganui chief executive Danny Jonas. Photo / Supplied

Sport Whanganui's chief executive Danny Jonas answers some important questions about Sport Whanganui and the communities it is tasked to support.

What's Sport Whanganui's purpose?
The most important thing for Sport Whanganui and our family, the Splash Centre and Whanganui Boys and Girls Gym Club is our purpose, our "why". Why do we come to work each day, build community connections and do the work we do? Sport Whanganui's "why" is to activate, connect and strengthen our communities to enhance their wellbeing. The team works across the Whanganui, Rangitīkei and Ruapehu districts. It's a broad area to cover with a range of different needs.

Who does Sport Whanganui work alongside to reach the "why"?
The team at Sport Whanganui works alongside a massive variety of groups in the community: kura (schools), sports codes, active recreation groups to create positive change. The team also supports individuals who are seeking to improve their health and wellbeing.

The whakatauki (proverb) "Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi; engari he toa takitini", which translates to "Our strength does not come from ourselves alone; our strength derives from the many", really captures the reason for working collaboratively.

Working closely with Whanganui District Council, Whanganui District Health Board, iwi, regional councils and a variety of diverse organisations, clubs and individuals creates a network of conversations and information-sharing that leads to some great outcomes. Just one example is the programme Fit for Surgery which your readers will know about from articles in the Midweek. Fit for Surgery is a programme developed through conversations with the Whanganui District Hospital and Sport Whanganui to create better outcomes for patients requiring hip surgery. The project was driven by Marco Meijer, an anaesthetist at Whanganui Hospital with a passion for doing the best for patients.

Sport Whanganui's "three pillars of strategic intent". Image / Supplied

On a national level we are led by Sport New Zealand as one of 14 regional sports territories to take a locally-led approach to creating positive change. Our work is informed by Sport New Zealand data, and local data collected by Sport Whanganui's research and evaluation lead Whitney Cox. Data sounds distant from our collaborative approach, but really it's another way to effectively connect with a large group of people about their needs. That data can then be shared with our connections to support decision-making around key initiatives.

The organisation clearly does much more than sport; why are you called Sport Whanganui?
There is a great deal of history attached to the name Sport Whanganui. It's true, the work we do goes beyond the scope of sport; it's also true that sport is part of our DNA. I don't mean to get all poetical but as Shakespeare wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet."

Our "sweet" is Sport Whanganui's purpose. In all areas, Sport Whanganui's work - be it sport, active recreation, play or fitness - is about building pathways to wellbeing for people in our communities. Those pathways may run parallel, cross and converge at times, but they meet in the same place.