Sport New Zealand’s Balance is Better philosophy continues to influence change in junior spaces of the sports sector.

Athletics Canterbury is the latest Regional Sports Organisation to create positive change to better meet the needs of their young people. 

The Balance is Better philosophy offers a fresh way of thinking for those involved in delivering youth sport in New Zealand. With teen participation levels declining, it’s about creating quality experiences for all young people to keep them active and in the game.

The focus of this movement is on how to encourage participation at all levels and develop skill at the right pace. 

Starting this summer season, Athletics Canterbury have adapted their Children’s Athletics Programme in line with community feedback.

These include:

•    Removal of points for children’s grades
•    Relays - anyone who wants to participate can
•    Younger aged representative teams removed 
•    Two teams selected instead of just one for the older children’s representative teams

These changes have been welcomed with open arms by the Athletics community with a focus on fun, enjoyment, and the social aspects of sport - not just competition.

“The Children’s Athletics Programme has been fairly static for years - we needed change.

“We wanted to make the sport fun, engaging and a positive experience with a focus on learning the fundamentals of run, jump throw,” says Athletics Canterbury General Manager, Ian Thomas.

In the past, bigger clubs have dominated the Saturday competition, earning the most points with the old points scoring system – which made it very hard for the smaller clubs to win the season ending overall points trophy.

“Our Children’s Committee took the feedback onboard and decided the best way to keep it fun and engaging was to remove all points scoring for Saturday competitions.

“The fact that children can participate in any event they enjoy means there is less focus on points and more focus on skill development and enjoyment,” adds Thomas.

Other changes implemented that have further opened the sport to a wider range of participants have also been positively received.

“By opening up the relays and allowing anyone to take part, everybody gets to run. We don’t want to restrict any children from participating – any children that want to run will be welcomed into a team.

“We’ve also lost the historic younger representative teams and have added more teams to the older representative competitions so more young people get the opportunity to participate,” he adds.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has affected the competition this year with only one children’s event held so far, but the future is still looking bright for Athletics.

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Article added: Friday 05 November 2021