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W 1 INTRODUCTION Sport Manawatu continues to develop sport and active recreation in Palmerston North and surrounding areas. This work contributes to a more vibrant city where people want to live because of its many sport and recreation opportunities. Having programmes to engage people in physical activity alongside the provision of quality sporting opportunities also contributes to happier and healthier people in our communities. In the following pages you will find a selection of some of the best work we have done in our community in the first six months of 2016. Highlights A total of 406 participants living in Palmerston North actively participated in the GRx programme during the past 12 months. A total of 59 whānau living in Palmerston North actively participated in the Active Families programme in the past 12 months. The Whānau Tri event attracted over 780 participants. A total of 67 Palmerston North City teams entered the 2015 Workplace Challenge. 289 Palmerston North primary school children completed the Swim for Life programme. 146 children from five schools played in the Kelvin Grove Touch Module at Celaeno Park. 46 teachers from 12 schools were upskilled on delivering quality physical education through the SportStart Physical Literacy programme. Palmerston North hosted the 2016 Ethkick Football Tournament. The tournament engaged 40 teams, comprising 310 participants representing 12 countries. More than 1100 schoolchildren in Palmerston North were given the opportunity to learn, develop, and practice the fundamental skills of cycling, both on and off road. 22 people took part in the Cycling Uncovered programme to gain the skills and confidence to enter the Tour de Manawatu. The Capability Continuum will allow us to identify challenges for sport providers and enable us to build a sustainable sport system. The Regional Sports Facilities Plan continues to gain momentum. Nine Grassroots Coaching Course sessions have been run, involving 117 participants. Ten national secondary school sports events were hosted in the Manawatu with four being at Arena Manawatu. Capability work has been undertaken with 11 different sporting organisations. 4,798 people ‘like’ our Facebook page, giving us ready and constant access to our core customer base. Events in the region supported by Sport Manawatu brought significant economic impact to the city – the largest being the Secondary School Volleyball event which added $1,698,536 to the economy. 476 Palmerston North volunteers across eight sports were recognised during National Volunteer Month in June. A total of 896 volunteers received a muffin and a thank you card while they were out making sport happen. 2 1. PEOPLE ARE MORE ACTIVE, MORE OFTEN Sport Manawatu works towards our vision of ’Everyone active everyday’ by making it easier for families to participate in sport and recreation, making it easier for children and youth to choose to be active, and making it easy for people to be active through community events and programmes. Green Prescription (GRx) Working with those most in need of physical activity The Green Prescription programme (GRx) is about engaging individuals who are currently inactive and would benefit from increased levels of physical fitness. The programme helps support participants with their health and fitness goals by linking them to appropriate and sustainable physical exercise options, whilst giving them the skills and education to make healthy nutrition and lifestyle choices. A component of GRx is to support sustained positive health outcomes for participants upon graduation from the programme. Education on the opportunities available in the community is key to supporting this outcome, and is achieved through collaboration with local health agencies, sports clubs and recreation providers. A total of 406 people living in Palmerston North actively participated in the GRx programme during the past 12 months. GRx attained an average weekly attendance rate of 18 participants. Twelve graduate participants formed a GRx netball team which participated in the Manawatu Netball Summer Social Netball League during the months of October, November and December. Eight GRx graduates formed two GRx badminton teams that participated in the Badminton Manawatu ‘Funminton’ league during the month of October. From the eight, four are continuing to play in the main badminton league. Three GRx participants were involved with the annual Manawatu Striders Ashhurst to Esplanade event in November with all three completing the 21km distance. Four GRx participants were involved with the ‘Have a Go’ day petanque at the Manawatu Petanque Club in October and three participants in December. From those sessions we had two successfully join the club. Several GRx graduates signed up for the Whānau Tri training programme and went on to participate in the Whānau Tri event in March. Six GRx participants attended the Manawatu Petanque Club’s Twilight Challenge in March. Of those six, three have become members of the club. One GRx participant became a member of the Manawatu Table Tennis club. This was initiated through the GRx ‘Have a Go’ table tennis day last year that the participant attended. Eleven GRx participants participated in the Great Forest Event in April. They all successfully completed the 5km event. Twenty GRx participants have been assigned Massey University third-year Exercise Prescription students to receive one-on-one personal training sessions. This will help complement and support the progress they have made through the GRx classes. 3 We have successfully completed our first ‘mums and bubs’ GRx-focused class. This was a joint initiative with Plunket to help support mums back into physical activity after having children. We had six mums successfully complete the course. We are successfully working alongside some key stakeholders to identify priority groups that we will look to work with to develop specific GRx programmes. Priority groups identified for the next year are mental health, refugees, Pasifika and Māori. Palmerston North participants enjoyed classes based at the CLM Lido Aquatic Centre and Arena Manawatu. Thirty-nine Palmerston North participants benefited from health education and nutritional guidance via GRx phone support. Sport Manawatu promotes the use of local parks and reserves including walking, tramping and cycle tracks throughout the district. A GRx success story can be found in Appendix 1. Active Families Engaging whānau most in need of physical activity through sport and active recreation The GRx Active Families programme is a community-based health initiative designed to increase physical activity in children and young people aged 4 to 17 years of age and their whānau/family members. The programme provides support, guidance and opportunities for participants to create healthier lifestyle changes through regular physical activity and healthy eating. This is achieved through education, nutritional guidance, goal setting and ongoing support. Each programme provides support for a minimum of 50 children and young people and their families for a period of up to 12 months. A total of 59 whānau (including 70 children) living in Palmerston North actively engaged in the Active Families and Active Teens programme in the past 12 months. Palmerston North participants enjoy classes based at Takaro Park, Roslyn School, Somerset Crescent School, Youth Space, Manawaroa Park, Ongley Park, Lido Aquatic Centre, Zenith Fitness Gym, and Barber Hall. Sport Manawatu promotes the use of local parks, reserves and active recreation facilities, including the river walkway and esplanade trails. Sport Manawatu continues to collaborate and partner with key stakeholders, linking programme participants into sustainable activities through Defence Force personnel, health promoters, medical centres, the before school nurses, nutrition agencies, and local sport and recreation providers. An Active Families success story can be found in Appendix 2. 4 The Whānau Fit Triathlon Improving community health and wellbeing through sport and recreation Partnering with the MidCentral District Health Board, the 2016 Whānau Fit Triathlon proved yet again to be one of the district’s biggest and most popular community participation events of the year. The Whānau Tri encourages and supports Māori and Pacific Island Families who are at risk of developing a chronic health condition into the sport of triathlon. In January 2016, 119 enthusiastic individuals from Palmerston North began a journey to complete their first triathlon under the supervision of Manawatu-based coach Shane Reed. The participants engaged in a 10-week training programme covering off everything they needed to know to get to the finish line with a smile on their face, as well as receiving healthy nutritional and lifestyle education. The Whānau Tri encourages participants and their whānau to make better long-term health choices. This positive outcome is achieved by developing a group/whānau bond which prioritises whanaungatanga or kinship. The bond created through whanaungatanga is culturally relevant to the participants, and they feel a greater sense of empowerment to attain personal goals, adopt better nutritional habits and continue with regular physical activity. Education on the opportunities available beyond the programme is key to supporting sustainability, and positive health outcomes are achieved through collaboration with local health providers, sports clubs, and recreation providers. Major highlights:

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