National monitoring surveys and statistics
Sport New Zealand collects national survey data on sport, recreation, and physical activity to measure its strategic goals and understand the sport and recreation needs of New Zealanders.
Research includes:
- 2007/08 Active New Zealand Survey: results are available from the latest Active NZ survey conducted in 2007/08. This is the most recent national data on sport and recreation participation by New Zealand adults (aged 16 and over). See www.activenzsurvey.org.nz
- 1997-2001 New Zealand Sport and Recreation Surveys: before the Active NZ survey, the Hillary Commission commissioned three national sport and physical activity surveys between 1997 and 2000. The findings from these three surveys were published by SPARC (now Sport NZ) in 2003. The overview report is available on the Active NZ survey website (see Results from previous surveys).
- 2011 Young People's Survey: In 2010 SPARC (now Sport NZ) invited a nationwide sample of schools to be part of this new survey on young people’s participation in sport and recreation (available on our young people section). Results will be available in the first half of 2012.
Work also is underway to understand the development of age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS). By helping young people develop their locomotive skills (walking, running), stability skills (landing, balance, rotation) and manipulative skills (throwing, catching, striking a ball), we give them an opportunity to grow their love of sport and recreation and potentially lifelong participation. Data collected by the Ministry of Education’s National Education Monitoring Project (NEMP) is being analysed to provide initial insights into movement abilities of children.