Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Simon Wickham: Rowing NZ Chief Executive welcomes funding boost ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics

Transcript

Simon Wickham: Rowing NZ Chief Executive welcomes funding boost ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Rowing is the big winner from the funding given out
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: by a high performed sport and therefore Simon Wickham from
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Rowing New Zealand here is the CEO, joins us on
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the program. Congratulations mate, you must be the biggest sport
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: in the land.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Welly, Andrew, We're pretty pleased with the outcome. We're thankful
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: for every dollar of support we get from both you know,
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: New Zealand taxpayers through high performance sport in New Zealand
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: and many donors and supporters behind us. And you know
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: we're our sites are said on Los Angeles in twenty
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: twenty eight the Brisbane in twenty thirty two.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Does this level of funding come with great pressure?
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: There's always great pressure in the system. I think we've
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: certainly delivered good return on investment today having one twenty
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: five percent of all the medals New Zealand's one since
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Sidney two thousand. But that certainly creates more pressure as well.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: There's there's legacy history behind the sport and equally there's
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: a real challenge moving forward to take on the likes
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: of Great Britain, Australia, et cetera. Most of ites have
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: got at least double the support that we've got.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: It's not though about medals, is it, because it's also
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: about the sport? And are you seeing this level of
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: support resonate in increased numbers of participation.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: A really good example from the last weekend we had
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: the largest regatt at Cadapiro ever in history. Over twenty
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: seven hundred athletes took part and we're definitely seeing it
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: at both ends. We're seeing it obviously with people like
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: the Golden Mums Brook and Lucy in Paris, and we're
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: seeing it from all sorts of people now taking part
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: in rowing and its numbers are definitely growing.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Well, this is all great, du Is. Congratulations mate. You
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: know how I originally said it's not about the medals. Yes, sure, yeah,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: it is actually about the medals. You better win a
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: whole heat.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: Well, we've got a team that's certainly up for the
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: challenge and we need every bit of funding out there
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: to support those athletes and coaches that do what they
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: do every day at this time of the morning to
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: put themselves on track to do it again. Eat Los
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: Angeles twenty twenty eight.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Well done. And that is Simon Wickham, running New Zealand CEO. Yes,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: that time of the morning. They all trained very very early.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: This is why I didn't do the sport. Also a
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: total absence of upper body strength.
• 2:09
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• 2:13
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• 2:16
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