New Zealand Olympic Committee presents its 2018 Annual Report

The New Zealand Olympic Committee presented its 2018 Annual Report to Member Federations at its General Assembly in Auckland today.

With close to 100 representatives from 45 National Sporting Organisations, President Mike Stanley acknowledged a successful year for the organisation. Teams to Olympic Winter, Commonwealth and Olympic Youth Games returned record medal results and reflected a positive team culture, inspiring pride and excellence in New Zealanders.

The organisation’s finances were delivered according to budget as diverse revenue generation strategies were developed to manage increasing games costs.

A continued focus on the New Zealand Olympic Committee’s integrity framework saw a strengthening of human rights, child protection and inclusion.

"There have been huge positives for New Zealand sport in 2018 and I’m delighted the planning, leadership and delivery of three games campaigns and our focus on team culture, integrity and the athlete voice has remained at the fore of what we do," he said.

"Our Games results were outstanding and we can be incredibly proud of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games families in 2018."

"However, the year was not without its challenges," he continued.

"The challenges we faced in 2018 were reflective of those seen around the world and we are thankful for the proactive engagement of the New Zealand Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission and the advice they provide our board and senior management. We were proud to endorse the IOC Athletes' Rights and Responsibilities Declaration as recommended by our athletes."

He urged members to consider the overall well-being of athletes before, during and after games.

"It's our role to enhance athletes' lives," he said.

2018 also saw the successful delivery of the EarnTheFern marketing campaign, embraced by the New Zealand public and athletes alike. The Maori Advisory Committee was established, providing advice on Tikanga Maori and ensuring its seamless inclusion across the organisation and its activities. Olympic Values in Education continued to inspire young New Zealanders with 85% of primary and intermediate schools registered to use the curriculum-based resources.

"Our engagement with schools and the public shows us just how much sport means to New Zealand," said Stanley.

The General Assembly was also attended by members of the New Zealand Olympic Board, Athletes’ Commission, Olympians Commission, Integrity Committee, Maori Advisory Committee, Olympic Order Holders and Chefs de Mission.

The session was preceded by a Members Forum which saw National Sporting Organisation CEOs, Chairs and the NZOC discuss collective leadership and responsibility, team culture, and athlete engagement in the build up to Games.

Multi-Games Year Delivered on Budget

With the successful delivery of three games campaigns comprising more than 500 team members, the New Zealand Olympic Committee delivered a Deficit of ($556,000) and Net Assets of $1.82 million which were both positive to Budget.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee relies heavily on commercial and other partnerships to send teams to games, lead and advocate for sports and athletes and promote and celebrate New Zealand’s Olympic and Commonwealth athletes, legacy and values.

Total income for 2018 was $12.19 million, with 50% of income coming from commercial, community and charity partners.

Revenue diversification is critical in an increasingly competitive sporting and commercial environment and agreement was reached with Lagardere Sports to support sponsorship procurement and strategy.

Expenses for 2018 at $12.74 million includes Games costs, personnel, marketing campaign, Olympic Ambassadors, BlackGold donations, premise costs and other costs.

The Sir Owen Glenn Legacy Fund was announced with a donation of $3 million dollars to be paid over three years to support education and youth programmes in line with our charitable objectives.

The President of the New Zealand Olympic Committee acknowledged major sponsor ANZ along with New Zealand and worldwide commercial partners, community funders and donors.

Funding Support of $1.4 Million to Athletes and Sports

While the commercial environment is challenging and the cost of international competition increases, the New Zealand Olympic Committee remained committed to providing funding support for New Zealand’s athletes and sports.

In 2018, this amounted to more than $1.4 million dollars.The contribution was made with the support of partners and benefactors including BlackGold philanthropic stakeholders, Olympic Solidarity and the Commonwealth Games Development Grant.

New Zealand Olympic Committee Members adopt new Constitution

Amendments to the organisation’s constitution were passed unanimously by the membership at the organisations 2018 General Assembly.

President Mike Stanley said the amendments would ensure the New Zealand Olympic Committee Constitution remains contemporary in a rapidly changing sporting environment.

"The changes today reflect the need for increased focus on athlete engagement, integrity and strong governance," he said.

"Our expectations of our membership, and ourselves, is high and we thank the national federations for their support."

New Zealand Olympic Athletes' Commission

The New Zealand Olympic Athletes’ Commission Chair Nathan Twaddle said the relevance of an active athlete voice within sporting organisations was more important than ever.

After a challenging year in the sporting landscape he acknowledged the New Zealand Olympic Committee Board decision to endorse the IOC Athletes’ Rights and Responsibilities Declaration and its commitment to athletes and integrity.

He also congratulated New Zealand sporting bodies and the New Zealand Olympic Committee on the fantastic results recorded by athletes in 2018 and acknowledged steps taken to better engage athletes across New Zealand sport.

"It's heartening to see an opening of perspectives in this important area," said Twaddle.

"We were also delighted to advise the New Zealand Olympic Committee on the appointment of a dedicated Athlete Engagement Manager, a role filled by Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medal winning rugby sevens player, DJ Forbes."

"The Athletes Commission will continue to be an effective voice at the New Zealand Olympic Committee board table, to empower athletes and to represent their views in decisions that matter."

He also acknowledged the work of New Zealand IOC Member Sarah Walker in leading the IOC Athletes' Rights and Responsibilities project and noted the importance of the role members of the New Zealand Olympic Athletes' Commission were playing in the development of the 2030 High Performance System Strategy.

Board Elections

Board Members Liz Dawson and Tony Hall were elected uncontested for a third four-year term on the New Zealand Olympic Committee Board. The pair were recommended to the membership by the Board Appointments Panel.

The Board Appointments Panel comprises each an independent, membership and board representative and is designed to support the maintenance of an experienced and balanced board.

Outstanding New Zealand Team Performances

The General Assembly provided the membership an opportunity to reflect on the outstanding athlete results of 2018.

With 46 medals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the team brought home the highest medal tally at any offshore Games.

Two medals were won at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang . These were the first in 26 years. At the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games six medals were won by New Zealand’s pre-elite athletes.

Across the New Zealand Team, 94% said the environment created by the New Zealand Olympic Team added value to their performances.

Commitment to the values of integrity, respect, leadership, excellence and pride underscored the Games environments and were actively strengthened through the concept of Team Manaakitanga, the performance culture which grounded the New Zealand Teams.

Collaboration between the New Zealand Olympic Committee, High Performance Sport New Zealand, Sport New Zealand, the National Sporting Organisations and the Games Organising Committees were crucial to the Teams’ successes.

"We acknowledge the incredible efforts of the New Zealand Team as they perform on the world’s stage. Those that competed in 2018 are now part of New Zealand’s Olympic and Commonwealth Games history and we thank them for it," he said.

"The close relationship we have with our sporting partners in New Zealand is also critical and we look forward to continuing to collaborate as we move forward to Tokyo 2020 and beyond."

"We also acknowledge the leadership of Chefs de Mission Rob Waddell (Gold Coast 2018), Pete Wardell (PyeongChang 2018) and Barbara Kendall (Buenos Aires 2018)."

ENDS

For more information please contact

Ashley Abbott

+64 21 552 021

ashley@olympic.org.nz

LINKS TO ANNUAL REPORT

LINKS TO BOARD

LINKS TO ATHLETES' COMMISSION

About the New Zealand Team

The New Zealand Olympic Committee was established in 1911. Since then, we have used our unique mandate to select and lead more than 60 teams to Olympic and Commonwealth Games across the globe.

Our athletes and teams are at the heart of our organisation and their stories have become integral to our national identity. They represent Aotearoa New Zealand with honour and pride and the silver fern is a symbol of their sporting success.

For decades our teams and athletes have showcased our unique culture and values on the world stage as well as promoting excellence and innovation through their stories and success.

We are a charity and rely heavily on commercial and other funding partnerships as we promote sport and the Olympic values and help create New Zealand history.

We are engaged in education programmes for young New Zealanders and, through Olympic Solidarity and other partnerships, help fund athlete and sport development.

We are proud to represent the Olympic and Commonwealth sporting movements in New Zealand.

ENDS