Sporting partnership launches New Zealand 2020 National Sport Club Survey

The New Zealand Amateur Sport Association and Auckland University of Technology’s (AUT) Sport Performance Research Institute New Zealand have partnered to deliver the 2020 National Sport Club Survey (NSCS), which launches today. This is the third year of this important national study with Sport Clubs across New Zealand having received an invitation to participate.

The NSCS Project Team comprises co-leads Dr Mel Johnston and Dr Michael Naylor (from AUT) as well as Amber Campbell, Will Caccia-Birch and Gordon Noble-Campbell (Association Chairman). The project aligns with the spirit of insights-driven provision of sport, which is increasingly a priority across the sector.

The Club itself as an organisational entity is the unit of analysis, (rather than individuals as participants). This survey is also unique because it is undertaken annually, nationally and across sport codes. Importantly, the NSCS builds upon what National Sport Organisations, Regional Sport Organisations, Regional Sports Trusts and Clubs may already be doing in terms of surveys and gathering insights. The Project Team is working with sport organisations on the survey itself, engaging with local communities and facilitating workshops.

In addition to building on a longitudinal set of sport club data, additional focus areas for the 2020 NSCS are COVID-19 as well “Innovation” and “Resilience”, which have never been more important for sport clubs.

2020 NSCS workshops to discuss the survey findings are being planned for Tauranga, New Plymouth and Hamilton and potentially elsewhere, towards the end of the year.

Dr. Naylor notes that “the 2020 NSCS will play a role in helping to re-imagine sport in these unprecedented times.”

Association Chairman, Gordon Noble-Campbell hopes that the survey will serve to renew the focus of community sports clubs as a key element of social well-being, observing that “at a time of widespread social dislocation, community sports clubs are playing a key role in connecting people across demographics, gender, race and economic background.”

The Association and the Project Team acknowledge the generous financial support of Dynasty Sport and Pinnacle Corporation.

Image courtesy of NZ Amateur Sport Association