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Sports Development Programme

The Sport Development Programme is designed to empower young Wellington athletes to actively pursue their goals in sport and in life.

Mayor Justin Lester with a big group of ahtletes from the 2017 Sports Talent Development programme.

This programme is currently undergoing review. For further details, please contact Lauren Joyce, Sport and Club Partnership Advisor on lauren.joyce@wcc.govt.nz.


The Council has partnered with Nuku Ora to deliver the Sports Development Programme, which is designed to empower young Wellington athletes to pursue their goals in sport and in life.

Guided by the Balance is Better philosophy, this programme focuses on the holistic development of the athlete, knowing that the diversity of experiences and opportunities that they are exposed to will form beliefs that will influence their performance in sport and in life.

About the programme

The Council's sport development programme has been running in partnership with Nuku Ora since 2007 and has supported Regional Sports Organisations with funding that supports specific athletes in their sport. Alongside continued funding for sports organisations, the programme will now provide the opportunity for individual athletes to apply.

The funding is used for athlete development in areas including:

  • an Individual Performance Plan (IPP) via Raise My Game training - Raise My Game - YouTube
  • physical movement screening (If required from IPP)
  • access to health and wellbeing workshops
  • access to mental skills workshops
  • access to strength and conditioning fundamentals (If required from IPP)
  • talks from professional / elite athletes from within the Wellington region (to be confirmed)

Criteria

You need to:

  • live inside the Wellington City Council boundary
  • be a member of, or affiliated to, a Wellington-based college, club or organisation, or represent Wellington at the date of your application
  • submit a complete application
  • be Year 11–13 (as of 1 January 2024)
  • be currently performing or aspiring to reach a high level eg play/compete in your school or club’s first team or at a representative / national / international level of competition.

Apply for funds

Regional sports organisations and athletes will need to:

  • complete the online application form that can be found on Nuku Ora's website
  • as part of completing the application form, the athlete will need to have the permission from their parent/guardian to be involved
  • make sure their coach/athlete support person is aware of the requirements of the programme.

Applications are also open to local sporting organisations interested in receiving a share of the funding.

More information

Nuku Ora
Community Development Lead
Email: info@nukuora.org.nz