A diverse audience of 180 arrived at Pulman Arena, to korero, connect and learn at the Sport Development Hui earlier this June. With this hui’s focus on Bringing Balance is Better to life, attendees were treated to presentations from sport development leaders about changes that had been introduced to their respective sports and communities which were aligned to Balance is Better.
Presenters shared insights on the trials and tribulations of rolling out change into their communities, including what tactics were successfully employed to support their changes.
Mike Hester, Participation Development Manager at NZ Rugby, who presented on the changes that had been made into the under 12 boys’ competitions, recounted the importance of shifting mindsets, “We needed to stop trying to make the players fit the game, and actually make the game fit the players”.
Alysha Jensen, National Programmes Manager at Netball NZ, spoke about learning to “stick to the compass and not the clock”, in response to the challenge of bringing about changes across a whole sport system.
Attendees were left with lots to ponder on in the afternoon following guest speaker and renowned neuroscientist, Kathryn Burkett’s presentation. Kathryn, spoke about how sport was a fantastic environment for exposing young people to moments of tolerable stress, which is critical for their cognitive development.
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