Paralympics New Zealand search for extra private funding for High Performance Programme

Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) will begin reaching out to business and the public today, following the very pleasing investment announcement from High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ).

PNZ is delighted to be awarded the third highest increase across all sporting organisations during the mid cycle investment round. An additional $200,000 per annum in 2015 and 2016 takes investment to $1.9m per annum. This investment will support gold medal potential athletes aiming for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. To complement this, and in line with HPSNZ’s focus on building sustainable programmes, PNZ has recognised a need to seek extra private funding from the business community and public. This funding will be used to increase the support for talent development athletes to accelerate their medal hopes for Rio 2016 and onward to Tokyo 2020.  

Fiona Allan (Chief Executive, PNZ) says, “Paralympics New Zealand is very grateful to have received a further $200,000 per year from High Performance Sport New Zealand in 2015 and 2016, and we are especially pleased that HPSNZ expressed very strong confidence in our programmes and people.

“Paralympics New Zealand has grown in leaps and bounds since London 2012, but for the first time, success has become our enemy. We now have more athletes than ever, thanks to our extensive talent identification programme. But with this comes significantly increased costs. Analysis by our high performance team clearly demonstrates we have the athlete talent to win the 12 gold medals we have targeted for Rio 2016, which would double our tally from London 2012. But even with the additional HPSNZ funding, we need a further $650,000 for 2015 and $800,000 for the Paralympic Games year, 2016, to secure Gold medal success and further build a sustainable programme toward Tokyo 2020.”

Historically New Zealand has performed well above its weight on the international stage, particularly at London 2012, where it ranked first in the world in medals per capita.

Paralympians such as Sophie Pascoe and Cameron Leslie became household names as part of a team that brought home an outstanding 17 medals overall, including 6 Gold medals, and broke a staggering five World Records.

PNZ has initiated a number of smaller projects over recent years to assist Para-Athletes, such as the Pin and Win campaign. But the changing nature of the organisation was recognised by the Board and Management, and just this week PNZ announced the appointment of global sport marketer, Rachel Froggatt, to the newly created position of Commercial and Marketing Director. Froggatt will work with existing stakeholders to reduce costs through smarter partnerships with suppliers and partners, and will look to diversify income via grants, TV broadcast, commercial partners, fundraising and bequests.

Rachel Froggatt (Commercial and Marketing Director, PNZ) says, “Paralympics New Zealand will be running a very flexible commercial programme. We will focus on working innovatively with interested partners to develop bespoke programmes designed to help meet their business objectives in a clear and measurable way. The beauty is that PNZ is not just a sports organisation, but promotes social change for the 1.1m kiwis living with disability. This makes it a very unique proposition for brands.”

The public can donate now to Paralympics New Zealand at: http://www.givealittle.co.nz/org/pnz.

Members of the business community are invited to contact Rachel Froggatt for more details (Commercial and Marketing Director, PNZ) on 027 546 5836 or RFroggatt@paralympics.org.nz

Notes:

• 2014 has seen New Zealand Para-Athletes with winning performances that resulted in 2 World Champions and 28 International podium finishes. 
• The success has in turn lead to a substantial growth in the number of Para-Athletes involved in Para-Sport.  For example, the Para-Athletics, PNZ Para-Cycling and Para-Swimming programmes have had a total of 36 Para-Athletes compete at international events this year, with an additional 122 Para-Athletes coming through the programmes and aspiring to follow in their footsteps.
• HPSNZ provides additional support directly to Paralympians and Para-Athletes by way of Performance Enhancement Grants (PEGs), Prime Minister’s Scholarships, HPSNZ Athlete Performance Support, and Innovation and Technology.
• This release follows details released by HPSNZ this morning (Thursday 11 December).