The champions of New Zealand's community sport and recreation sector were celebrated in Auckland on Tuesday night, with national awards recognising the individuals and organisations dedicated to improving the nation’s wellbeing through physical activity.
Held at the New Zealand International Conference Centre, the 2026 New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards honoured winners across six main categories, highlighting a diverse range of initiatives from grassroots coaching to strategic commercial partnerships.
Sport NZ Group Chief Executive, Raelene Castle, said the winners reflected the passion and commitment found throughout the sector.
Commercial partnership and community impact
The Commercial Partnership award went to Basketball New Zealand and its partner, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ). The collaboration is guided by the shared principle that "what’s good for basketball is good for New Zealand."
The winners range from organisations bringing people together within their own communities, to initiatives creating more fun and inclusive opportunities for our tamariki and rangatahi, and projects helping protect and sustain the environments where activity happens.
Together, they have revamped the BNZ Kiwi Hoops community programme, leading to a 29% year-on-year increase in registered participants aged 14 or younger. The initiative has reached 90,000 participants since 2023, with 38,000 involved in the last year alone. An integrated marketing campaign featuring NBA star Russell Westbrook has helped quadruple the sport's commercial revenue since 2022, bolstering its social impact.
In the Community Impact category, the North Canterbury Sport & Recreation Trust was recognised for its MainPower Primary School Coaching Programme. Running since 2008, the free programme delivers coaching in 16 different sports to more than 7,500 children in 42 schools, from Kaiapoi to Kaikōura. By removing financial and geographical barriers, the trust works with local schools and organisations like those found in other regions such as Dunedin to foster fundamental skills, teamwork, and resilience.
Sustainability and inclusion standouts
Yachting New Zealand claimed the Environmental Sustainability award for its innovative project, RŪNĀ. The programme connects young Kiwis with environmental science and mātauranga Māori through the medium of sailing. It has reached over 21,000 students in ten regions, offering them hands-on experience with marine ecosystems, renewable energy, and traditional navigation. This focus on marine health is particularly timely, given recent findings that microplastics are an increasing threat to Auckland's marine ecosystems.
The award for Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion was presented to New Zealand Football for its Pasifika in Community Football project. After identifying an under-representation of Pasifika people in coaching, refereeing, and governance, the organisation partnered with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples. Using a "Talanoa engagement" approach to gather 208 authentic community voices, they co-designed solutions that have led to an 8% growth in Pasifika participation, a 10% rise for Pasifika women, and a 97% increase in Pasifika coach education. This effort reflects a wider celebration of Pasifika success, from sport to local businesses like a popular West Auckland Samoan koko roastery, and in other communities such as South Auckland's Muslim community, where daily prayer times provide rhythm.
Honouring Māori participation and future leaders
Māori Touch NZ received the Jim Maniapoto Memorial Taonga for Excellence in impacting Māori participation as Māori. Its kaupapa, Te Pae Whiti – The Future, was centred on the January 2026 Tamariki Māori Touch Tournament at Hopuhopu, the birthplace of Māori Touch NZ. The event brought together 114 teams from 30 rohe (regions), grounding the competition in tikanga, te reo Māori, and whanaungatanga (kinship).
The Susie Simcock Future Leaders’ Scholarship was shared by two recipients. Toby Doyle, New Zealand Cricket’s Community Cricket National Coach Development Manager, was recognised for his work supporting over 3,000 coaches, including the creation of a virtual assistant, ‘Kaiako Mōhio – Coach Wizz’. Belinda Randall, Gymnastics New Zealand’s Head of Community Sport, was awarded for translating national strategy into a practical new foundation programme for 5 to 8-year-olds called Springboard, which was rolled out nationally last year.
Top leadership and lifetime contributions recognised
The prestigious C.K. Doig Leadership Award was presented to Andrea Nelson. As the outgoing Chief Executive of Gymnastics New Zealand, Nelson led the organisation through a major constitutional and strategic overhaul. Her work to strengthen integrity and safeguarding, which achieved 100% compliance from all affiliated clubs, earned her an appointment to a global safeguarding body. Nelson is the incoming Chief Executive of New Zealand Rugby League.
Lifetime Achievement Awards were also presented to four long-serving contributors. Burton Shipley was honoured for his services to basketball, Lesley Milne for rowing, Barry Smith for football, and Rob Small (Ngāpuhi/Mahurehure) for his work in the parks and recreation sector.
Ms Castle noted the high quality of entrants this year, which made the final decisions difficult for the judging panel. "This year we saw a real increase in nominations, including almost double the entries in Commercial Partnership which is a great sign of the collaboration and innovation happening across the sector, even in tougher times," she said. "Every category had a high calibre of entries, and the judges told us the quality made it incredibly hard to judge. I'd like to congratulate all the winners and the finalists."
The awards underscore a vibrant and adaptive sector, with organisations and individuals finding innovative ways to promote activity and wellbeing across New Zealand. The official Sport NZ website provides further details on a range of national initiatives.
