News & Updates

This year the Athletics NZ Connections Conference welcomes Prof Andy Martin, Professor in Sport and Physical Education at Massey University as the keynote speaker.

Andy’s research focuses on building winning and effective cultures in sports organisations and teams, offering transferable elements, which can be applied at a local sport club. 

Andy is no stranger to the sport of Athletics; he is a member of Feilding Moa Athletics Club and the Manawatu Triathlon Club.  He has participated in the New Zealand Ironman and represented New Zealand at the age group World Triathlon Championships. He holds professional coaching qualifications in football and tennis and has been actively involved in coaching at both junior and senior level. 

Andy brings with him a wealth of knowledge, research and insights based on numerous key studies and co-authored books – A Will to Win written in 2020 based on the Silver Ferns and Legends in Black which focuses on the All Blacks completed in 2014. His research focuses on building winning and effective cultures in sports organisations and teams, offering transferable elements, which can be applied at a local sport club. In addition to this Andy has conducted further studies centred on caring cultures and developing winning ways for women’s sport.

Andy’s research compliments the Athletics NZ strategic purpose ‘we exist to activate the power of our community to provide great athletics experiences’. These insights can be applied to athletics clubs, which makes the conference an opportunity not to be missed for club leaders. Key features will focus on building connection, community and a sense of belonging. This will aid clubs in developing their own culture for their members and building an environment people will want to engage with.

Stuart Savage (Athletics NZ, Club Development Lead) explained “developing an effective club culture has been something that is often overlooked in ‘club-land’, however it is vitally important when providing quality experiences, retaining much-valued volunteers and engaging with our members. We want clubs in athletics to think about both their club culture and strategy when developing their environments as they go hand in hand. The knowledge and insights Prof Andy Martin will offer at the conference will invaluable, so club leaders are encouraged to register early and to take up this unique learning opportunity”.      

We look forward to welcoming Andy to the conference and listening to his research, so that we can apply it to our own sport!

• For more information on the conference please click the link – 
  https://athletics.org.nz/clubs/connections-conference/
• To register for the conference please click the link –
   https://agmconnectionsconference2023.events.mygameday.app/