Olympic representatives reinforced the need for strong support structures around athlete at the New Zealand Olympic Committees 99th General Assembly that took place yesterday in Wellington. The General Assembly offered sport leaders the opportunity to share their views on the changing high performance environment and what it takes for New Zealand to succeed on the worlds stage.
In a panel discussion, led by Olympic Ambassador Barbara Kendall together with Bike NZ High Performance Director Mark Elliott and Netball New Zealand CEO Raelene Castle, sports and athlete representatives highlighted coaching and the relationship athletes had with their support teams as critical. Flexibility, continuous development and simplifying the complexities of the high performance environment were also factors at play in making New Zealand proud.
Athletes need trust and respect from the people around them, said Barbara Kendall, who is a member of the IOC Athlete Commission. Allow athletes flexibility and a role in decision making. She also called on sports to invest in non-critical essentials. Doing things the same as everyone else is not going to make the difference, she said. Give your athletes the support and confidence they need to try new things and explore new ideas these are the non-critical essentials that can give athletes the edge.
Mark Elliott said Bike NZ was focused on coach development as crucial in delivering performances at the highest level. We need to enable athletes to achieve their true potential, he said. They need support, partnership, guidance and leadership and it is the coach that can deliver this. The panel discussion on sporting success was previewed by Chief Executive of MFAT John Allen who called for intellectual curiosity, risk taking and collaboration as necessary factors in creating an edge for New Zealand in sport, business, science and the arts. Chairman of SPARC Paul Collins briefed sport on the changes to New Zealands high performance structure.
IOC member Barry Maister reinforced the importance of athlete support, highlighting his role on the IOC Entourage Commission established to manage the increasing influences on Olympic athletes. New Zealand Olympic Committee President Mike Stanley led the delegates through the formal aspects of the General Assembly. Sports ratified a moderated Olympic constitution, designed to provide more effective governance for the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
Current board members Simon Wickham and Rosemarie Nye were re-elected by the delegates and Handball was confirmed as a member sport. The New Zealand Olympic Committee Annual Report and Financial Accounts from 2010 were reviewed and accepted by member sports. Olympic Summer and Winter Chefs de Mission briefed sports on developments ahead of the London and Sochi Olympic Games. London Chef de Mission Dave Currie departs for the first of a series of three site visits to the United Kingdom on Thursday 12 May. There are 50 Olympic and Commonwealth Member sports.
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