Annual Report 2021/2022
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10 Aktive <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> <strong>2021</strong>/<strong>2022</strong><br />
Aktive <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> <strong>2021</strong>/<strong>2022</strong> 11<br />
MESSAGE FROM<br />
TE KAUNIHERA O TĀMAKI MAKAURAU<br />
Auckland Council<br />
Play, active recreation, sport and<br />
connection to nature are crucial<br />
in supporting the well-being and<br />
resilience of Tāmaki Makaurau’s<br />
communities, especially our tamariki<br />
and rangatahi, providing vibrant<br />
contexts for social connection with<br />
each other and our communities.<br />
The play, active recreation and<br />
sport sector contributes over $1.9<br />
billion the economy of Tāmaki<br />
Makaurau, providing 25,000 jobs and<br />
engaging over 300,000 volunteers<br />
who offer a combined 22 million<br />
hours of time and effort through<br />
their sport and recreation codes.<br />
The reach of the sector is wide<br />
and diverse with over 1 million<br />
Aucklanders active each week.<br />
We view play, active recreation<br />
and sport as key drivers to deliver<br />
on our Auckland Plan outcomes<br />
and create a Tāmaki Makaurau<br />
where all Aucklanders will be part<br />
of and contribute to society, access<br />
opportunities, and have the chance<br />
to develop to their full potential.<br />
Auckland Council acknowledges<br />
and thanks Aktive for providing<br />
leadership of this important sector,<br />
particularly as codes, clubs and<br />
communities have sought to<br />
rebuild after two years of COVID-19<br />
disruption.<br />
In the last year, Auckland Council<br />
has continued to support Aktive<br />
and the sector through our grants<br />
programme, allowing for improved<br />
sector development and capability<br />
building for community projects.<br />
This includes Māori-led sport<br />
and recreation programmes, and<br />
supporting child safety and inclusion<br />
in sport and recreation.<br />
We have been pleased to<br />
collaborate with Aktive through the<br />
Auckland Sport and Recreation<br />
Strategic Action Plan leadership<br />
group to achieve increased levels of<br />
alignment across Tāmaki Makaurau.<br />
Auckland Council Pools and<br />
Leisure facilities help Aucklanders<br />
live active lifestyles, improve<br />
their wellbeing and have fun. In<br />
the <strong>2021</strong>/<strong>2022</strong> financial year, we<br />
welcomed over 3.7 million visitors<br />
to our pool and leisure centres,<br />
including 2.0 million pool visitors<br />
and over 1.6 million visitors for other<br />
recreational activities.<br />
Through Auckland Council’s<br />
Parks, Arts, Events and Community<br />
(PACE) Committee, we commenced<br />
a funding round of $15.3 million from<br />
the Sport and Recreation Facilities<br />
Investment Fund. This multi-milliondollar<br />
investment will enable more<br />
Aucklanders to participate in<br />
community sport and recreation<br />
activities.<br />
The PACE Committee has also<br />
approved the Regional Parks<br />
Management Plan to guide<br />
management of the regional parks<br />
network for the next decade. The<br />
plan sets the vision and direction<br />
for the council’s management of<br />
the regional parks network – 41,000<br />
hectares of Auckland’s 28 regional<br />
parks.<br />
Aucklanders strongly value the<br />
experiences our parks offer and<br />
the opportunities they provide<br />
for relaxation and recreation. The<br />
Auckland region boasts 4000 parks,<br />
including 236 dedicated sports<br />
parks offering 800 winter sports<br />
fields. We celebrated 861 Out &<br />
About activation events across<br />
166 locations, including our parks,<br />
welcoming 22,000 Aucklanders to<br />
these activations.<br />
Aktive plays a key role in fostering<br />
collaborative relationships in our<br />
sector and we look forward to<br />
working together, alongside Sport<br />
New Zealand and our sport and<br />
recreation partners, in nurturing a<br />
vibrant eco-system for play, active<br />
recreation and sport.<br />
He waka eke noa, we are all in<br />
this together.<br />
Dave Stewart<br />
General Manager Active Communities<br />
Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau |<br />
Auckland Council<br />
The COVID-19 pandemic continued<br />
to have significant impact on the<br />
sport and recreation sector in <strong>2021</strong>/22<br />
with lockdown uncertainty, event<br />
cancellations, membership concerns<br />
and detailed return to play plans being<br />
required to an extent we have not<br />
seen before.<br />
It was particularly challenging for<br />
those in Tāmaki Makaurau with 107<br />
days in some form of lockdown.<br />
As the situation has evolved, so<br />
has our approach. Ultimately, this<br />
has been to ensure we are providing<br />
the most effective level of support to<br />
organisations that provide play, sport<br />
and active recreation opportunities.<br />
We mobilised through these<br />
times to bring together focused<br />
capabilities and resources to provide<br />
fast and effective deployment of<br />
targeted support. This response has<br />
included:<br />
Additional funding: Aktive advocated<br />
for Auckland during extended<br />
lockdowns in the region, resulting in<br />
two additional contestable funds that<br />
responded to the impact of COVID-19:<br />
• Tāmaki Makaurau Sector<br />
Support Fund<br />
- 434 applications processed<br />
- $1.7 million funds approved<br />
- 373 organisations supported<br />
• Regional Covid Hardship Fund<br />
- 192 applications processed<br />
- $438,000 funds approved<br />
- 129 organisations supported.<br />
The impact of<br />
COVID-19 on play,<br />
sport and active recreation<br />
A sincere thanks to Sport New Zealand<br />
for listening to the insights we had and<br />
responding with such considerable<br />
financial support.<br />
Safe return to community sport:<br />
a grant of $85,760 from New Zealand<br />
Community Trust enabled Aktive, CLM<br />
Community Sport, Harbour Sport,<br />
Sport Auckland and Sport Waitākere to<br />
facilitate the distribution of 800 return<br />
to play packs comprising sanitiser and<br />
face masks to 522 organisations across<br />
Tāmaki Makaurau. Engagement with<br />
stakeholders identified that the provision<br />
of sanitiser and face masks would<br />
alleviate some of the financial burden<br />
and remove a potential barrier for local<br />
and regional organisations to get their<br />
communities engaged in physical<br />
activity as soon as possible.<br />
Sector connection: we also ran Sector<br />
Forums throughout COVID-19 lockdown<br />
periods to ensure the sector remained<br />
informed and connected. Overall, this<br />
totalled to at least 1,830 touchpoints<br />
with approximately 80% return<br />
participants, and included:<br />
- 2 Sector Connect Updates<br />
- 10 Sector Updates<br />
- 2 Secondary Schools Forums.<br />
Toolkits, tips and templates:<br />
complementing Sport New Zealand’s<br />
information and guidance, Aktive<br />
developed a COVID-19 vaccination<br />
toolkit comprising sector-specific<br />
resources that organisations could tailor<br />
for use. This included a vaccination<br />
decision making guide; risk assessment;<br />
and policy and related letters, all<br />
reviewed and endorsed by Simpson<br />
Grierson. This removed another cost and<br />
time-consuming task for a wide variety<br />
of organisations who already had a<br />
significant amount on their plates.<br />
While COVID-19 remains something<br />
we are needing to navigate day to<br />
day, the restrictions and impacts are<br />
dramatically reduced. You don’t have to<br />
look far to hear emotive stories of how<br />
important the resumption of physical<br />
activity has been to the wellbeing of<br />
both adults and young people right<br />
across Auckland. How we leverage<br />
this platform and continue our<br />
collaborative approach as a sector into<br />
the future is key.<br />
With COVID’s sting in the<br />
tail late in <strong>2021</strong>, Jennah<br />
and the whole Aktive team<br />
showed true leadership,<br />
dedication, and empathy<br />
to the sector. Aktive<br />
supported the sector in<br />
many varied ways, from<br />
advice and guidance,<br />
being our voice with Sport<br />
New Zealand and the<br />
Government, through to<br />
direct financial support.<br />
They greatly assisted Tennis<br />
Auckland.”<br />
– Rohan West, Chief Executive Officer,<br />
Tennis Auckland