Sport and Recreation New Zealand works with schools, community clubs, sports organisations, iwi, regional sports trusts and local authorities to create opportunities for all New Zealanders to be active and reach their potential in their chosen sports.
New Zealand prides itself on being a top sports nation, "punching above its weight" in international sport and having a high level of participation in sporting activities at home.
Every year, Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) receives significant lottery funding that helps keep New Zealanders active and supports high-performance sports. NZ Lotteries 2005/06 profits have meant that SPARC could be allocated $28,220,000 in lottery funding for the coming year.
SPARC's support for high-performance sports created a resounding result over the last two years - 27 world championship titles, 70 world placings, and 31 Commonwealth Games medals.
SPARC is dedicated not only to supporting elite athletes, but also to getting Kiwis "up off the couch". That means getting out into local communities and operating the well-known Push Play programme that aims to get New Zealanders more active more often - "all it takes is 30 minutes a day".
Research in conjunction with Push Play has found that the number of Kiwis who were physically active for six months or more increased from 51 percent in December 2004 to 66 percent in December 2005.
