Systems approach sees increase in rangatahi school sport participation

Rangatahi participation in physical activity through schools is increasing thanks to the collective efforts of Sport Bay of Plenty, school sport coordinators and directors, and regional sport organisations.

Sport Bay of Plenty’s school sport and recreation advisor, a function supported by funding from NZCT and Rotorua Trust, works closely with schools and regional sporting organisations to support the secondary school sport sector in several ways which have proven successful, including:

• Enhancing the regional secondary school sport event calendar to improve event management with evidence-based strategies and stronger partnerships.
• Supporting schools, regional sporting organisation, councils and Sport Bay of Plenty teams to make data-drive decisions by providing insights about rangatahi participation.
• Strengthening school sport operations by supporting schools to increase sports office capacity and introduce strategic roles.

Examples of collaboration include working with schools and rangatahi to understand what activities were of interest, and liaising with several codes to increase service quality and accessibility, particularly when existing competitions were oversubscribed.

“For instance, from our Voice of Rangatahi survey and meetings with schools we knew young people have a growing interest in ultimate frisbee, yet the ultimate frisbee championships had already reached capacity,” explains Claire Kersten, Sport Bay of Plenty’s school sport and recreation advisor.

In 2024 Sport Bay of Plenty therefore worked with the deliverer to introduce a junior tournament.

“This doubled the number of teams who could participate in ultimate frisbee, and allowed us to adjust the purpose of the junior event to be more focused on an introduction to ultimate frisbee as well as a development opportunity.”

The collaborative efforts and support have paid dividends - the 2024 School Sport Census from School Sport New Zealand shows half of the students on the Bay of Plenty’s secondary school roll actively participated in secondary school sport in 2024.

There has also been a notable increase in participation of 8.5 per cent since 2022, marking both the highest participation rate in the region since 2016, and a post-pandemic rebound – showing a clear trend of recovery and growth after Covid disruptions. 

“Key to this growth has been more strategic support by Sport Bay of Plenty on the system side of things, rather than just at events,” Claire says.

“In the past few years we have worked with schools, including in Rotorua, to encourage involvement of school staff as longitudinal data shows a direct correlation between staff participation and student engagement in sport.”

Efforts are also continuing to improve the retention of school sport staff by holding quarterly meetings with peers, improved induction processes, and professional development opportunities.

“Coupled with working alongside the region’s sporting codes, we’re seeing a stronger sport and recreation system that is evolving to meet the needs to the region’s rangatahi and offering more great opportunities to engage them in physical activity.”

Participation insights

The School Sport Census is conducted annually by School Sport New Zealand. The 2024 Census for the Bay of Plenty showed:

• 50% of secondary school students are actively participating in school sport, a notable increase of 8.5% since 2022, marking the highest participation rate in the region since 2016.
• The impact of Covid has been seen in the post-pandemic rebound, with involvements/participations up by 4,500, showing a clear trend of recovery and growth.
• Not only are more students playing sport, but those already participating are now engaging in multiple sports. Previously, many students were involved in one or two sports; now, they are participating in three to four sports, showing a deepened commitment to physical activity.
• A 5% gender gap indicates higher participation rates among boys, though this presents an opportunity for future focus on boosting female engagement.
• 7052 participations in inter-school sport events were recorded across 2024, a 72% increase since a Covid impacted 2022, but it does still highlight the sustained appetite for sports opportunities at the school level. Meanwhile, the number of events held has doubled since the pre-pandemic period, underscoring the region’s strong growth as well as recovery.

Sport Bay of Plenty has also released its latest Voice of Rangatahi report – an annual survey of secondary schools students across the region.

Result show 71 per cent of the rangatahi who are physically active are doing so at school, underpinning the importance of working with the region’s secondary schools and sport and recreation organisations to support quality school sport activities.

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