Background Information

The Otago Academy of Sport Programmes include athletes from Otago, North Otago & Central Otago, and are coordinated and run by the Otago Academy of Sport. The programme is mainly funded by the Otago Community Trust and the Aotearoa Gaming Trust (formerly Southern Trust). The Academy provides a sport science support network including sports nutrition, athlete life and mental skills as well as a tailored strength and conditioning gym-based programme for regionally identified emerging athletes. The programmes are supported by Otago’s Regional Sporting Organisations (RSO’s), who assist us with identifying our emerging talent from podium and aspirational sports across the Otago regions.

 

The Otago Academy of Sport

This year athletes from the Otago region will be given the opportunity to be included in the Otago Academy of Sport Talent Development Programme for a two year period.  The first year of the programme (The Foundation Year) offers athletes an introduction into what high performance sport is like, and includes the development of an Individual Performance Plan (IPP), workshops, physical movement screening, and a group-based gym training programme with a qualified strength and conditioning coach. There is also a weekend camp with the Southland Academy athletes which provides more support in public speaking, training and game recovery, media skills, broad life skills and fun activities including hot yoga, rock climbing and other sports which assess coachability. The second-year programme (The Leadership Year) builds on principles from year one, and includes one on one consults in athlete life, mental skills and nutrition, more in depth workshops as well as gym-based training. By selection only, the athletes can be offered further support in their third plus years and this will be at the discretion of the Programme Manager and how the athlete is tracking on their National Sporting Pathway and the HPSNZ End to End Pathway.

 

Vision:

“Nurture, support and educate talented Otago athletes to achieve excellence in sport.”

 

Goal:

“More Otago athletes achieving on the national and international stage.”

 

Aims:

• Assist athletes on their performance pathway
• Offer resources, expertise and advice
• Enhance knowledge and involvement of Coaches/Providers
• Increase the number of nationally identified Pre-Elite Otago Athletes
• Add value to existing programmes
• Engage RSO’s and NSO’s

2. Eligibility Criteria: (“Otago” refers to the regions of North and Central Otago)

• • Reside in Otago, and is a member of, or affiliated to an Otago, Club or Organisation, or represent Otago, Central Otago or North Otago at the date of this application. 
  • Submitted a completed application
  • Minimum age of 16 (as of 1 January 2022)
  • Aspiring to Junior/World Championship, Olympic, Paralympic and/or Commonwealth Games level of competition
  • Currently performing at national age group level with potential to represent NZ in Open Status

Should circumstances prevail, Otago Academy of Sport may choose to consider applicants that fall outside of the stated criteria.

 

3. Performance Services and Support:

There are two main components to the service and support offered to athletes involved in the Academy Otago Development Programmes:

1. Performance Related Workshops
2. Group and Individual Services

Most of the services offered in year one is centred on group services/workshops. These workshops focus on developing the athlete and coaches support service knowledge and increasing their understanding of the key principles of pre-elite and elite training and performance. Athletes and coaches will have the opportunity to gain greater insight into a wide range of services, ensuring the foundations of an elite performance pathway are in place.

 

4.Cost of the Programme

The programme cost for each Otago and North Otago individual athlete is $300 plus GST/year. For Central Otago it is $200 plus GST/year.

There is a gym membership fee which also covers the cost of paying a Strength and Conditioning coach to be in the gym each session. The athlete’s will train twice a week in the HPSNZ gym and will have the ability to do lunch time drop-ins.

N.B.This payment needs to be made before the 20^th of May 2022, however payment arrangements can be organised with the Programme Manager on a case by case basis.

Group Services

Workshops cover areas including Athlete Life, Mental Skills, Sports Nutrition and Strength

and Conditioning, Drug Free Sport, Financial Skills, Emotional/Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Topics covered include.

• Becoming a high-performance athlete: overview of the demands, expectations, requirements placed upon the elite athlete.
• Performance Lifestyle: Planning for the demands of sport, study and/or work (time management, goal setting, sponsorship etc).
• Fuel: Overview of sports nutrition and supplementation and a cooking workshop.
• Gaining the Mental Edge: Overview of Sports Psychology
• Principles of Training: Overview of different types of training (e.g. strength, power, endurance, speed, and recovery). Gym Sessions/Programming with a S&C coach.

 

Individual Services

All athletes will have individual access to the Performance Lifestyle Programme - Athlete Life. This programme assists athletes to manage their lives effectively in the pursuit of sporting excellence, supporting them with sport/life balance and ensuring they have a good healthy perspective, in addition to minimising sport-life barriers that can be challenging for aspiring athletes.

4. Athlete Requirements:

By accepting the offer of Otago Academy of Sport services and support, an athlete agrees to:

• Optimise the services and support made available through the Academy Otago & Central Otago programmes
• Attend all scheduled workshops and individual consultations and communicate if you are unable to attend.
• Availability to attend a residential camp (Academy Otago only), and to prioritise this over competition and training. Camp dates TBC but are normally scheduled in May 2022. This might require a day’s leave from School, University or Work.
• Abstain from taking prohibited substances (knowingly or unknowingly).
• When required, cooperate with OAS in public relations and promotional activities.
• Commit to regular communication/correspondence with OAS.
• Maintain behaviour and personal standards conducive to sporting excellence.

5. Application Process:

5.1.    Year One Athlete Application Forms must be completed in full by the athlete

and then signed by the athlete (and their parent/guardian if under 18 years at time of

application). The athlete must also ensure that their coach completes the Coach Support

section included within the Application Form. Coach name and email contact details are a requirement.

All applications must be received by Monday 28^th February 2022.

 

5.2.    OAS will contact RSO’s to grade all the athlete applicants. Close off date for RSO’s to submit

their applications is 5.00pm, Monday 7^thMarch 2022.  All applications must be received by Otago

Academy of Sport from RSO's by this date.  Applicants will be informed by Friday 11^th March 2022.

 

5.3.    Application enquiries from RSO's, athletes and coaches should be directed to the

Programme Manager on 0275713382 or 03 4790640.

 

6. Selection

6.1     Selection Process

Applications will be assessed and prioritised by an Otago Academy of Sport assessment panel. The panel comprises representatives from OAS and the Academy Otago Programme Manager.

National Sporting Organisations (NSO’s) may also be consulted during this process where a RSO doesn’t exist.

The Selection Committee may request an interview with an applicant and/or the applicant’s coach as part of the selection process.

 

6.2     Selection Criteria

All applications are evaluated against the following selection criteria:

• Athlete’s ability to represent New Zealand at Elite Junior level and/or Elite Senior ’Open’.
• Endorsement and ranking from RSO and/or NSO
• Athlete’s ability to become a nationally “identified” athlete
• Feedback from the athlete’s respective coach
• Relevance of athlete’s sport in relation to HPSNZ’s End to End Pathway including podium and aspirational sports.
• Application quality.

6.3     Selection Outcome

Otago Academy of Sport will notify all applicants of the outcome of their application by Wednesday

16th March 2022.