Violet Walrond, only 15 years old and barely 1.6m (5ft 3in) tall, had no idea what she was starting in 1920, when she became the first woman to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games.
Violet, whose father was her chaperone in Antwerp, finished fifth in the 100m freestyle final. When she wasn’t swimming, Violet was confined to her hotel room – unable to watch other sport or sightsee like the male New Zealand team members.
Back home, when a function was held in the team’s honour, she wasn’t invited to the all-male event.
Violet was a straight talker, right through to her passing in 1996. By then she could see the tremendous strides New Zealand women had taken in sport and was delighted in her small but significant part in that history.
We recall Violet and the thousands of New Zealand women who have since competed at Olympic and Commonwealth Games on March 8th, 2024 – International Women’s Day.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee stands proudly as a champion of women in sport. At present, women hold the top three NZOC positions – President Liz Dawson, Chair Diana Puketapu and CEO Nicki Nicol.
The organisation appointed its first female leader in 2011 with Secretary General Kereyn Smith going on to hold the position for more than a decade.
The New Zealand Commonwealth Games team to Birmingham in 2022 comprised 53% female athletes and 47% male. At the last Olympic Games, in Tokyo in 2021, the New Zealand team was 48% female and 52% male. What’s more, at Tokyo the New Zealand women won 55% of the team’s medals, including 86% of the gold medals.
The timing is perfect because the 2024 Paris Olympics will be the first gender-equal Olympics - exactly 5250 female and 5250 male athletes.
New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO Nicki Nicol says the organisation has been recognised internationally for its commitment to Women in Sport and continues to take a proactive approach to creating leadership opportunities and appointing diverse boards and commissions.
“Olympian Sarah Cowley Ross (athletics) chairs the NZOC Athletes’ Commission comprising five female and four males, and the NZOC Board Appointments Panel process ensures both males and females are making the decisions that matter at a governance level.”
The NZOC notes that work there is still work to be done. Male coaches still outnumber females at both Olympic and Commonwealth Games and, across the board, support staff are still weighted in favour of men.
Nicol says the NZOC run Wahine Toa programme, (the New Zealand Olympic Women’s Leadership Academy), has provided opportunities for retired female athletes to develop leadership skills.
“We’re now seeing these women transition from the field of play to the board table and that’s good news.
“We know that diverse teams lead to better decisions being made, greater ability to solve problems, collaborate and, ultimately, to be more effective. Not only that, making sure there is female representation on and off the field of play means that role models can inspire the next generation of women and girls.
“Health and wellbeing outcomes are also better delivered through more diverse teams.”
Nicol says the NZOC is actively supporting High Performance Sport New Zealand’s women in leadership and coaching initiatives, including the holistic coaching programme Te Hāpaitanga. The NZOC also supports the IOC’s global coaching development programme WISH and is ensuring a continued focus on coaching and leadership within Wahine Toa.
The NZOC has also appointed a female Deputy Chef de Mission for the first time at Paris 2024, Ashley Abbott, is ensuring equality across male and female NZOC-appointed Games staff and advocates across the system for gender balanced teams.
As well as having women represented within the New Zealand sporting sector, the NZOC can play a role internationally.
In 2005, triple Olympic medallist Barbara Kendall, became the first New Zealand woman on the IOC. In 2016, Sarah Walker, another Olympic medallist, became the second.
Today, New Zealand women also sit on a wide range of leadership bodies within global sport and the wider Olympic Movement including ONOC (Oceania National Olympic Committees, ANOC (Association of National Olympic Committees), the Commonwealth Sport Athletes’ Commission and a number of IOC Commissions.
The NZOC’s communication channels demonstrate the organisation’s commitment to gender equality and across Facebook, Instagram and the New Zealand Team website, female supporters are in the majority.
“I’m proud of our legacy and thank all those who have been a part of it,” concluded Nicol. “As an organisation, we’re looking forward to continuing to help create opportunities for women in sport, build capability and advocate for better balance across the New Zealand sport system.”
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