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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

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