ASB joins Athletics NZ as a Strategic Partner

Today we welcome ASB as a Strategic Partner of Athletics New Zealand, kick-starting a partnership that extends right across our sport, from first steps to world bests. 

ASB’s support spans the full athletics pathway, helping Athletics New Zealand grow participation at the grassroots, strengthen community programmes and events, equip coaches and teachers, and back New Zealand athletes on the international stage.

“ASB is passionate about giving Kiwi the opportunities to participate, progress and perform at every age and stage. Our partnership with Athletics New Zealand is an opportunity for us to support young people into sport and create environments where kids feel encouraged to give it a go,” says ASB’s Executive General Manager Business Banking Ben Speedy.

ASB is joining Athletics NZ as the naming partner of our two foundation programmes for Rangatahi and Tamariki, now ASB Get Set Go and ASB Run Jump Throw. These are the programmes many of our young members first meet athletics through.

ASB Get Set Go introduces movement skills through play for tamariki aged 3 to 8, and ASB Run Jump Throw builds on that for 6 to 11-year-olds. Both programmes have been delivered widely in schools and clubs around the country, reaching over 100,000 Kiwi kids, and ASB’s support means we can now put more behind them, including new equipment kits for clubs and skills-based video resources for clubs and teachers delivered through āhei. 

“This partnership is a significant one for our sport, and it comes at an important time,” says Athletics New Zealand Chief Executive Cam Mitchell. 

“Athletics New Zealand has spent recent years building the strength of our programmes, our people, our events, and our high performance environment, and it’s that work that made a partnership of this scale possible. ASB backing us across all of it, from a child’s first day at a club through to our national teams, tells us we’re heading in the right direction. We’re grateful to have them alongside us, and excited about what we can do together.”

The partnership also backs our national events, with ASB alongside our competitions you take part in through the season, including the soon-to-be-announced ASB George Street Mile. It also extends to our international teams, with ASB featuring on national team apparel. 

For the coaches, teachers, and clubs who deliver our programmes on the ground, the impact is a familiar one. “For a lot of Kiwi kids, ASB Run Jump Throw and ASB Get Set Go are their first experience of athletics, and what happens there really matters,” says Athletics New Zealand North Island Development Manager Kirsten Kilmister. 

“When children learn to run, jump, and throw in a way that’s fun, inclusive, and appropriate for their developmental age, they build confidence and fundamental skills that set them up for life. ASB’s support means we can get these programmes into more schools and clubs, reach more tamariki and rangatahi, and give more of them that positive start. That’s a great thing for the sport and for the kids who’ll come through it.”

From first steps to world bests. We’re excited to welcome ASB to the Athletics New Zealand partner family, and the impact our partnership will deliver right across our sport.