Kiwisport funding confirmed

Sport Bay of Plenty has had its Kiwisport Plan signed off by Sport New Zealand, meaning another three years of funding will be available to the Bay of Plenty.

Kiwisport is a government funding initiative that was announced in 2009 designed to promote sport for school-aged children.

The Regional Partnership Fund (RPF) is coordinated by Sport Bay of Plenty on behalf of Sport New Zealand for use in Bay of Plenty communities. The allocation is calculated on a per-capita basis based on the number of students in each region.

The fund has very specific purposes including increasing the number of school-aged children participating in organised sport, increasing the availability and accessibility of sport opportunities for all school-aged children to participate in organised sport and to support children in developing skills that will enable them to participate effectively in organised sport.

Following extensive consultation with the community, Sport Bay of Plenty has established two contestable funds for the distribution of the fund; the Major Project Fund, and a smaller project fund called the KickStart Fund.

Sport Bay of Plenty has recently undertaken a full consultation process with the Bay of Plenty sporting community to reconfirm the priorities for the use of the fund. Based on this consultation a plan was submitted to Sport NZ which subsequently has been signed off.

“It was great to get a variety of feedback, and also pleasing to be the first regional sports trust to get sign off from Sport NZ. We can now focus on ensuring that the funding gets to the places where it will make the most difference,” says Megan Cleverley, Sport Bay Plenty’s sport manager.

These priorities, based on feedback through consultation, remain similar to the initial three years.

The following breakdown will be applied for the 2012-14 period:

Major Project Fund - $270,000

Fundamental Skills Project - $200,000

KickStart Project Fund - $75,000

BOP Secondary Schools Fund - $35,000

Total Fund - $580,000

Two funds will be available for the community to apply to. These projects must demonstrate collaboration and/or reduce duplication of services, especially competition for athletes and coaches. The consultation confirmed that 92 per cent of the community felt strongly about the importance of having a mix of large and small projects. Major projects can be funded up to $30,000 and KickStart projects up to $2,000.

GO4it is a comprehensive fundamental skills programme that focuses on key skill sets that develop lifelong skills required to participate in sport and recreation for life. GO4it consists of nine skill sets, six that form the core skills, and three additional components that complement these. The programme is coordinated by Sport Bay of Plenty, and delivered by the regional sporting organisations.

The secondary school fund is managed by the Bay of Plenty Secondary School Sport Association and is dedicated to the development of secondary school sport.

The outcome from the consultation process reinforced the balanced approach of both long and short term projects and the ability to respond to new opportunities as they emerge. Sport Bay of Plenty would like to thank the communities for their input to the consultation.