Annual Report 2018

MESSAGE
from our Chair and CEO
It is with great pleasure that we present our 26th Annual Report to our stakeholders. At the beginning of the year, based on
community needs and operational strategies, we laid out our roadmap of work that we were going to undertake (Our Focus
2018). This roadmap guided critical thinking in the Boardroom and amongst partners and funders alike.
Year end reflection on how far we have travelled reveals an achievement of 76% of Our Focus 2018 (13/17). While that result
was very pleasing we acknowledge there is room for continuous improvement, which we will embrace.
Throughout the year our discussions and thinking affirmed that the sport, active recreation and health and wellness sectors
are in the midst of very interesting and challenging times. Our vision of “Inspiring our Communities to Live Healthy Active
Lifestyles” could not be more apt at a time when physical inactivity, obesity and mental health issues are on the rise and the
Auckland metropolitan region is squeezed for spaces and places to participate in physical activity. We have a growing diverse
population that is consuming sport and physical activity in completely different formats to traditional offers. We have a new
coalition Government focussed on measuring the well-being of our people. Health and wellness, with little or no reference to
sport, is now front of mind for our nation. The common language, internationally, is to speak of the importance of physical
activity.
Richard Bailey, writing in the Huffington Post (2016), stated:
“Physical inactivity is a major public health issue, and there is an urgency to find sustainable and affordable ways of
getting the world moving. Large numbers of people are inactive to the extent that they risk their health, and while it is
often assumed that this is a problem of the West, it has now spread into every corner of the globe. Some describe the
current situation an inactivity pandemic.”
Anecdotally some commentators will tell us we have not made enough significant inroads into that pandemic. For Sport
Auckland to remain relevant and true to our vision our Board have highlighted that physical activity, more than ever before,
can be one of the positive vehicles that can help drive social, educational and health outcomes for our communities and for
our Government in an effort to reverse the inactivity pandemic.
That is why as part of our strategic thinking we have aligned our work to that of our partners’ (Aktive, Sport Waitakere,
Harbour Sport, CLM Community Sport, Auckland Council, Local Boards, Auckland District Health Board, Counties Manukau
District Health Board, Foundation North, Lion Foundation and NZCT) with an emphasis on shifting the needle forward to
increase physical activity levels within our communities. Our Board has determined that, with limited resources, partnering
and collaborating is the operating model of the day. We take this opportunity then to sincerely thank all the above named
organisations for their support and for the investment they have given us to help achieve our intentions for our communities.
To be impactful, our work has had to be more targeted than ever before. We are focussed on ensuring our Young People, per
se, are given quality experiences and opportunities that will ensure that they have a life-long love of physical activity. This
has meant understanding the Physical Literacy framework which relates to the holistic development of each individual at the
various stages of their lives. The holistic view takes into consideration an individual’s physical, social, emotional, cognitive
and spiritual needs. It means that providers of sport and physical activity need to be aware that they themselves need to have
a clear understanding of the Physical Literacy framework and rethink how they deliver their offerings in the market.
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