Pathway To Podium

An Overview
December 2015

What Is Pathway To Podium?
(P2P)
Pathway To Podium (P2P) is an athlete development programme
geared to helping young emerging kiwi athletes prepare for life
as high performance athletes.
It targets athletes who are 1-3 years from “carding” and focuses
on education in four key, non-sport specific areas including
nutrition, sport psychology, athlete life (e.g. time
management, goal setting , balancing work /study / life /sport)
and drug free sport.
It is a holistic approach that incorporates the athlete’s coach and
family into the programme so that they may better understand
the challenges and support required for their emerging athlete,
as well as an opportunity to upskill themselves.
P2P is a national initiative that has 14 regional hubs throughout
New Zealand. Auckland is the largest P2P hub with 89 athletes
from a variety of sports.

Key Objective
The objective for Pathway To Podium is to develop athletes for entry
into the high performance system by:
1. Focusing on early education in key, non-sport specific areas
2. Exposing emerging athletes to the High Performance Sport New
Zealand (HPSNZ) system.

CARDED ATHLETES
Carded athletes are those in medal
contention or top 8 placings
internationally, who are supported
by the High Performance Sport
New Zealand system.

Why Was P2P Developed?
The programme was developed in response to
feedback that newly carded athletes were
overwhelmed by the high performance
environment, they had little awareness on how
HPSNZ worked, and they lacked knowledge in all
round skills that were critical to their future
success.
P2P is a national initiative that has 14 regional
hubs throughout New Zealand.
Auckland is the largest P2P hub.

The Auckland Hub
From Warkworth to Pukekohe
89 athletes,
35 coaches,
Largest NZ hub

How P2P Works In Auckland
Due to the large number of athletes that P2P services in
Auckland, we have created a delivery model to maximise
not only on time, efficiency and quality delivery but more
importantly impart life-long skills in the areas of leadership
and character development – this is our unique point of
difference. The Auckland P2P programme delivers the
following:
Workshops
For athletes, coaches and parents in the key areas of
athlete life, nutrition in sport, performance psychology,
and drug free sport. We utilise qualified deliverers who
are pre-approved by HPSNZ.

How P2P Works In Auckland
One-On-One Consultations
If identified as necessary for the athlete, we arrange for
on-on-one personalised consultations with a professional
in the key areas for nutrition, sport psychology and
“athlete life.”
One-On-One Mentoring
If identified as necessary for the athlete, we arrange for
on-on-one mentoring sessions with relevant high
performance NZ athletes.
Facility Access
In order to remove any barriers to training, we have
arranged for free facility access to a number of Auckland
pool and gym facilities for our P2P athletes.

How P2P Works In Auckland
Strength & Conditioning Sessions
In addition to a special workshop for athletes, parents &
coaches on the principles of strength & conditioning, we
offer strength & conditioning sessions and programmes to
all of our P2P athletes.
Cross Sport Environment
Due to the large number of athletes and codes we
service, we have the ability to bring together like-minded
athletes who can learn from each other’s stories of
success & struggle – something no other hub can offer.

How P2P Works In Auckland
Wayne Goldsmith
Leadership & Character Development – Guiding
Principles for P2P Auckland
We have invested in two key world class presenters
Dr. Ralph Pim and Wayne Goldsmith to not only help
develop programme material, but also to present this
material to our P2P athletes. We have extended this offer
to other P2P hubs in NZ.
Both have years of experience working with young people
and connecting their development with parents and
coaches. They understand the power of sport and high
performance in developing athletes of character.
Both Ralph and Wayne provide inspiration and practical
concepts to develop leadership and positive character
traits with our P2P athletes.

What Sports Are Included?
High Performance Sport NZ nominate the sporting
codes that are given entry into the P2P programme.
In turn, the nominated national sporting organisations
(for each code) select athletes for the programme.
In Auckland, the codes that are involved include
athletics, canoe, cycling (including mountain bike,
BMX, track, para-cycling), swimming (including paraswimming),
triathlon, women’s football, equestrian,
women’s rugby sevens, hockey, rowing and netball.

“The Hard Way”
Principles of Training - Workshop
“Chose the hard way by getting up at 5am to prepare well for
a long training e.g. having a decent breakfast and getting to
training 15mins early so I could warm up and stretch well
before hand, followed by putting a lot of effort into my hard
bike session after school”
P2P Triathlete; Workshop - Principles of Training

“One of the things I took away is that injury
isn’t the end of the world but let it be an
opportunity to build up on other disciplines
and to understand why it happened so you
can learn from it.”
P2P Triathlete, Guest Speaker Session with
Terenzo Bozzone

Tupou Neiufi
Para-Swimming Athlete
Tupou Neiufi is one of our youngest P2P athletes at only
14 years of age. The eldest of 7 children, she lives in
Mangere and attends Otahuhu school. She has overcome
huge adversity having been hit by a speeding car at the
age of 2, and warned that she may never regain any
mobility.
Tupou is an avid swimmer and holds NZ Open and Junior
Records for the 100m Backstroke.
An additional benefit for Tupou through Aktive’s P2P
delivery in Auckland, has been the free access to local
pool facilities at the Moana-Nui-a Kiwa Leisure Centre
(which was negotiated by Aktive’s P2P team). The facility
has greatly valued Tupou training at the centre and see
her as part of their team and an inspiration to the local
community.
Tupou is currently aiming to qualify for Rio Olympics 2016
and continues to improve in the pool hitting personal bests
at every key swim meet.

Byron Raubenheimer
Para-Cyclist
Byron lives in Browns Bay and is 24 years old.
He was born with a birth defect which resulted in a
decision being made to amputate his leg when he
was 12. Byron has been in cycling since January
2014 after crossing over from Snowboarding where
he represented NZ.
He has made great gains and is currently in the
world’s top 10. Byron is likely to be selected to travel
to the world champs in Italy in early 2016, and is a
bolter for the Olympic Games. He balances his
heavy training regime with long hours at work as a
chef.
P2P primarily supports Byron by providing
convenient strength & conditioning facilities and
access to a strength & conditioning coach.

Benedict Chong Wong
Shotput Athlete
Benedict lives in Massey and is one of seven children.
His goal is to be a good role model for his family and be
the best shot putter he can be. He works multiple jobs to
support his family and his sporting goals.
Benedict recently worked through a major injury to his
finger that prevented him from defending his national title.
Although faced with the challenges of injury, access to
transport and financial pressures, Benedict has remained
focused and is working harder than ever to return this
season to perform at his best. A great example of his
dedication is that he asked his little brother to attend the
P2P workshops with him to take notes to ensure he was
still able to access information.

Current Partners
We are extremely grateful to our current partners who
provide the Auckland P2P programme with the following:
Sport NZ & HPSNZ: funding, leadership, professional
development for the programme coordinators,
development of P2P
AUT University: free gym access for our athletes
Auckland Council: free gym & pool access for our athletes
including selected facilities on a needs basis
AUT Millennium: free gym and pool access for our
athletes
Unitec: free gym access for our athletes and free office
space on campus for one of our coordinators

What We Are Seeking
A Partnership
Financial support to:
1. Extend the P2P programme to more
sporting codes and athletes in
Auckland
2. Create a travel - accommodation -
gear fund for athletes to apply to, in
order to attend domestic and
international competitions – as these
are often their biggest expenses
In-kind support which could help negate
financial costs for our P2P athletes.

What We Can Offer
A Partnership
1. The ability to make a real contribution to
NZ’s future medal winning athletes –
supporting them on their journey to
success
2. Content – the ability to connect with
Aucklanders by sharing our P2P
athletes’ journeys - the successes and
the struggles
3. Brand positioning, image enhancement
4. P2P athletes as guest speaker(s)
5. Fairfax media campaign – bringing the
P2P athlete stories to Auckland
6. Facebook – regular updates on the P2P
athletes’ journeys from across NZ