Sarah Cowley Ross is helping athletes make change. Photo: Anthony Au-Yeung
From next year athletes will have an additional way to advocate for change in the New Zealand high performance environment.
The Athlete Leaders Network (ALN), funded by High Performance Sport New Zealand is set to increase the strength and mana of the athlete voice, according to former New Zealand athletics representative Sarah Cowley Ross from the Athletes' Commission of the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
"With athlete leaders across Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sport included in the network, the ALN is about empowering athletes and advocating for change, from within the sporting system.
"Athletes have told us they want a network that can build athlete mana, promote a well-being focus across the system, serve the needs of diverse sports, athletes, and funding levels, and provide support for athletes to grow their leadership and advocacy capability. The new ALN will deliver this."
The ALN was established in response to a request for an athlete voice mechanism from High Performance Sport New Zealand and will be operational in early 2023.
High Performance Sport New Zealand's director of high performance, Steve Tew, says establishing the ALN will provide an important platform to drive the focus on well-being.
"This is entirely an athlete led concept and it will have the credibility, capability and resource to engage on issues critical to our athletes. We know athletes have been asking for this, and we're pleased to provide the initial funding necessary to get it underway."
Chair of the Drug Free Sport New Zealand Athletes' Commission and WADA Athletes Commission Chair Ben Sandford will sit on the ALN interim Board.
"We need to have diverse athletes from across both funded, and non-funded, sports empowered to advocate for what's important to them," Sandford says.
NZOC CEO Nicki Nicol says while the NZOC will provide the opportunity through administrative and structural support, the ALN will operate independently.
The ALN Board will comprise the Chairs, or their nominees, of the NZOC Athletes' Commission, the DFSNZ Athletes' Commission and the Paralympics New Zealand Athletes' Council, with four further appointments to be made.
