10 CHAIRMAN’S AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S <strong>REPORT</strong> 2011/12 has been an outstanding year for <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> sport and for <strong>Sport</strong> <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>. There have been good news stories across the sporting spectrum, from the performance of our elite athletes on the world stage, to the increasing strength and capability of our key sport and recreation bodies, and the good health of our community sport system overall. <strong>Sport</strong> <strong>NZ</strong> has played a key role in leading, enabling and investing in each of these areas, and we’re pleased to report back on an extremely successful year, which in many ways reinforces the ability of sport at all levels to enrich the lives of <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>ers. HIGH PERFORMANCE In 2011/12 Kiwis across a broad range of sporting disciplines took on the world and won. It was arguably <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>’s most successful high performance year to date, starting with the All Blacks’ stunning home Rugby World Cup victory, and finishing with 22 athletes and teams having secured top three placings at world championships or pinnacle events in Olympic disciplines. Kiwi athletes continued to deliver at the Olympic Games in London in July and August 2012, with the <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> team exceeding the target of 10 or more medals, winning an impressive 13 medals all up, including a remarkable six golds. That put <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> 15th on the gold medal table. Even more significantly, <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> ranked 4th in terms of medals per capita behind Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica. The medals won by those nations all came in one sport, athletics, while <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>’s were achieved across six sports. 2011/12 – ARGUABLY NEW ZEALAND’S MOST SUCCESSFUL HIGH PERFORMANCE YEAR Furthermore, 24 <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> athletes and teams posted 4th to 8th place finishes in London, and another 35 athletes and teams placed 9th to 16th. Not to be out-done, our Paralympians followed up with 17 medals in their Games, including 6 golds which remarkably put them 1st in terms of medals per capita. All round, it was a truly outstanding result, which <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>ers can be, and are, extremely proud of. That Olympic success was the result of several things – a ton of hard work by our athletes and their coaches and support teams, the support of national sport organisations (NSOs) and the <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> Olympic Committee (<strong>NZ</strong>OC), and smart planning and investment by <strong>Sport</strong> <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> (<strong>Sport</strong> <strong>NZ</strong>), and more recently High Performance <strong>Sport</strong> <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> (HPS<strong>NZ</strong>). In the four years prior to the Games, we invested $180 million in high performance athletes and facilities, to ensure our best medal prospects arrived at the start line as well prepared as they could be. They didn’t disappoint, and Kiwi sports fans were brought to their feet time and time again, by inspirational performances by seasoned campaigners like Mahe Drysdale, and new emerging stars like Lisa Carrington. During the year there were many other high performance achievements to inspire us all, including the Silver Ferns winning the Constellation Cup, the <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> Sevens team winning their World Series for the 10th time, the Breakers winning consecutive Australian NBL titles and the emergence of up and comers Lydia Ko (golf) and Jacko Gill (shotput). This year also saw the establishment of HPS<strong>NZ</strong>, through a merger of the Academies of <strong>Sport</strong> North and South with the High Performance unit of SPARC (now <strong>Sport</strong> <strong>NZ</strong>). The goal was to create an athlete-focused, coachled and performance-driven high performance sport system, which provides world-class support services and facilities, so athletes can focus solely on performance. <strong>Sport</strong> <strong>NZ</strong> also plans to invest in world-leading innovation and technology to give our athletes a competitive advantage. In December, HPS<strong>NZ</strong> appointed Canadian swimming great Alex Baumann as its first Chief Executive. Alex and his team are now continuing with the mission of developing a world-leading, sustainable high performance system, so we can continue to deliver results like those we saw in London. HPS<strong>NZ</strong> and <strong>Sport</strong> <strong>NZ</strong> are working closely together to ensure there is an integrated pathway from community to high performance sport.
<strong>ANNUAL</strong> <strong>REPORT</strong> 2012 CHAIRMAN’S AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S <strong>REPORT</strong> 11 ERIC MURRAY CELEBRATES GOLD AT THE LONDON OLYMPICS IN THE COXLESS PAIR
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