Bachelor of Recreation and Sport Whakawatea: Industry Cooperative Projects 2020
THE EXPERIENCE YOU NEED & THE SUPPORT TO SUCCEED
Assistant Manager SNAP Fitness
Business Owner #IAMSHE
Assistant Production Manager in a Horticultural Business
Bike Shop Regional Manager
Secondary School Teacher Training
HB Community Fitness Centre Trust Trainer
Preparing to Travel
Rugby Coach HBHS
What some Bachelor in Recreation and Sport graduates are doing now
Community Partnership Manager - HBRU
Chairperson of a Community Sport Club
Secondary School PE Teacher
Police Officer
Netball HB
School Sports Coordinator
Postgraduate Study
Recognising the Fomai Brothers
The three Fomai brothers shown here, are community legends. All three have or are currently undertaking Sport and Exercise qualifications at EIT. EIT Bachelor of Recreation and Sport graduate and pasifika community leader Tivani Fomai (left) is now a teacher at Hastings Boys’ High School. Neria Formai (right) is a Level 5 Certificate in Exercise graduate and has just signed a new contract with the Magpies for another season. Sage Fomai (middle) is currently enrolled in the Diploma in Sport, Recreation and Exercise and is a Fitness instructor at ‘Complex Forme’ a Health and Wellness Centre in Hastings.
Shae-Hannah Walker Project: Strengthening cultural identity through creating play base learning activities in primary schools to improve social, physical, and emotional health. Organisation: Horizons Basketball Trust Horizons Basketball Trust is an academy that focuses on building the overall wellbeing of our rangitahi. Currently, the trust has incorporated Te Whare Tapa Wha into their programme giving their athletes the opportunity to strengthen all aspects and areas of their health and culture. Kia mau koe ki inga kupu o ou tipuna, whaia te pae tawhiti kia tata whāia te matuaranga kia mārama. Through combining my ideas with the academy’s values and sections of the holistic Māori health model, I developed a programme for primary school aged children in years four, five, and six highlighting cultural aspects. The stories of Tangaroa, How Māui Slowed the Sun, and Papatūānuku and Ranginui were summarised on to flashcards and developed into skills taught through play base learning activities. These beneficial skills can be utilised on a sporting field and everyday activities. Below are pictures focused on swimming resilience (Tangaroa), and strategy, aim, and coordination (Papatūānuku and Ranginui). The Coronavirus pandemic was the main barrier while trying to execute this project as primary schools were unable to assist. However, I was able to run the first sessions with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints children. Overall this experience has been beneficial for me seeing the children become more familiar with cultural aspects and their curiosity of the Māori stories and concepts on the cards. My time management, creativity, and communication skills have definitely improved and I look forward to more cultural and active programmes in the future.
Akhil Shriram Project: Introductory parkour programme for children Organisation: Omni Gymnastics Centre Participation in mainstream competitive sports is a great way to help children in their overall development. But repetitive practice of a small set of skills early on, restricts participants from building a flexible foundation to enjoy other sports. Parkour can be an alternative as a ‘donor’ sport which strengthens the participants fundamental movement skills through its playful training philosophy. For my project, I chose to deliver an introductory parkour programme at Omni Gymnastics Centre, to children over the age of eight. The aim of the programme was to teach the children the fundamental elements and philosophy of parkour. Each class was an interactive session where children were encouraged to come up with new styles of clearing obstacles, involving running, jumping, climbing, hanging, landing and rolling, where falling and failing were encouraged as much as accomplishing a task. The project was a success, as I felt that the programme rekindled the natural urge in children to move in creative ways. I constantly emphasized that there is no right or wrong way to approach a challenge, but there certainly is a better and efficient way to do it. The programme received positive feedback from both the parents and the participants. One of the participants stated that training parkour improved his performance in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This placement at Omni Gymnastics was a great opportunity for me to improve my coaching skills while providing the participants with a playful parkour programme that challenged the norm of regimented sports.
Matthew Watts Project: Development of positive habits and strategies for a successful gym membership continuation. Organisation: Bay City Gym, Napier What makes people want to join a gym? Is it to look a certain way? Is it to lift a certain weight? Or simply a means to alleviate stress? Furthermore, why do a portion of individuals who join with high levels of motivation often find themselves plateauing which is followed by a slump and loss of interest all together? The aim and purpose of my placement was to work with new members (especially those in the post-lockdown influx as well as individuals from a pulmonary group) at Bay City Gym in Napier. Through conversation, 1 on 1 training, and surveys, I was able to look at the motives for these individuals joining the gym and what their short- and long-term goals were. From there, I could establish whether these goals would be practical for everyone. Furthermore, if the goals were unrealistic, I could work with them to develop more positive and appropriate goals. There were numerous hurdles faced along the way but through them all, I managed to work with individuals to develop successful strategies to help them achieve their goals in a realistic manner. Included in this was an emphasis on a holistic approach to health, so I focused on the wellbeing of individual’s family as well as their mental health. Working in this gym environment was very rewarding. Not only did I get to meet a lot of interesting people, I also gained valuable skills and experience which I can take forward into the industry.
Melody Khan Project: STICKITIVITY - Embedding lifestyle change after the Green Prescription Organisation: Napier City Council Green Prescription (GRx) is a health initiative that promotes active and healthy lifestyles. I worked alongside Napier City Council to investigate the success of the current GRx and looked into what could be improved to ensure that the healthy habits taught during the programme were continued once the individual had completed it. The information I gathered and collated into a report will be used to develop a follow-on programme to improve the ongoing health of the Napier community via instilling healthy activity habits. My investigation of the current GRx programmes success found that Hawke’s Bay could improve in two key performance standards: 1. Participants being motivated to stay physically active 2. Participants understanding the advantages of physical activity I found that the current research on successful lifestyle change, exercise adherence and change behaviour requires personal motivation, understanding and self-justification of why a behaviour should be changed. The COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown prevented me from conducting any face to face interviews, but made me think of alternate ways the GRx could be administrated in such an environment. This co-operative project called to me because I am a strong believer of preventative treatments. Focusing and correcting upstream issues (in this case inactive lifestyles) prevents downstream issues (eg Obesity and its negative health effects). Exercise as a health treatment needs to be pushed as it is globally accessible, cost-effective and is backed by research proving its effectiveness.
Maria Mudd Project: Promoting supportive parental side-line behaviour Organisation: Sport Hawke’s Bay
Sport Hawke’s Bay is an organisation that focuses on ensuring that the community leads a healthy and active lifestyle. Sports are essential during childhood due to the benefits in health and development. Parent behaviour during sports can influence a child’s experience, which may be a deterministic factor of sports dropout or continuation in adulthood. The aim of my project was to design an informative booklet that empowers parents to support their children during sport. The individuals involved in this project were the parents of children that play for the Taradale or Bridge Pa rugby teams. Junior and Derryn, who work for Sport Hawke’s Bay, interviewed the parents. My role was to observe and record the behaviours adults displayed at the children’s rugby games. I saw both positive and negative behaviour occurred at a number of rugby games. I worked alongside Junior and Derryn examining the data collected to identify any common themes or trends. By the end of this project I created a pamphlet which highlighted positive side-line behaviours that were agreed upon by the participants, Junior and myself. The main challenge was establishing what appropriate behaviour to reinforce. In the future Sport Hawke’s Bay can use the learnings from this project to implement an intervention programme. This project provided me with the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience as a researcher whilst also improving my skills in collecting and analysing data. It was a rewarding experience working with an organisation that encourages an active life.
Justice Otene Project: Strength and conditioning programme for Māori women struggling with the physical aspect of the Police recruitment process Organisation: Eastern District Police
The Eastern District Police is the law enforcement agency that oversees the Hawke’s Bay and Te Tairawhiti regions. They work directly with the community to maintain peace and safety throughout New Zealand. Currently, Māori women within the Police are underrepresented yet the unique perspective they bring is increasingly been seen. It was identified that many Māori women are interested in joining the police, however struggle to pass the Physical Appraisal Testing (PAT). I was offered the amazing opportunity to work alongside the Eastern District Police to develop a strength and conditioning programme for Māori women hoping to join the Police. My project ran for eight weeks targeting the specific components of fitness needed to pass the Physical Appraisal Test, while also focusing on creating a culturally rich experience. Throughought this experience the women displayed outstanding improvements in all areas of focus, proving that providing additional support for those wanting to join the police could be an effective step towards increasing diversity within the Police. Time was the main challenge for many of the women, as they faced a busy work life and motherhood. To overcome this challenge, I found it was important to keep training hours flexible, and allow the women to bring their babies along with them. Overall the experience was extremely rewarding. My coaching experience and skills have definitely developed, witnessing these women work out of their comfort zones, motivating one another to work hard to achieve their goals. The experience has been incredibly rewarding.
Christopher Treacher Project: Te Whare Tapa Wha (TWTW): Utilising a Maori health model in the development of youth athletes Organisation: Horizons Basketball Academy Can a Maori health initiative impact Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD)? TWTW is an approach to Maori health that influenced and complimented the LTAD of youth participants of this programme by addressing whanau, hinengaro, wairua and tinana aspects of health. A subsidiary of EB Sports Development, Horizons Basketball Academy enabled me the opportunity to develop, implement and reflect on a programme designed to help youth aged 10-17 in aspects of their physical, mental, spiritual and social health, through the education of TWTW health pillars. The promotion of physical activity, development of fitness, sporting and social skills influenced overall athlete health and assisted the athletes in balancing life’s challenges. COVID-19 impacted programme delivery but was overcome through online sessions and ZUls (Zoom Huis). Baseline fitness tests specific to basketball along with questionnaires were utilised to ascertain baseline health data. Bodyweight exercises formed the foundation to help promote improvements in strength, mobility and flexibility. Participants used an open-mind in establishing resistance training (not necessarily meaning moving heavy barbells!) SUCCESS! The athletes that were consistent in their attendance and completion of each session showed marked improvements in their fitness test results. Reflection questionnaires showed that education around TWTW helped participants manage the demands of school, home-life and sport in their lives, effectively showing that LTAD can indeed be enhanced through application of TWTW practices. Developing a programme that provided education on the importance of tinana, wairua, hinengaro and whānau has helped expand my own horizons towards working in high-performance sport.
BSES5.006 Te Aranga Ake- Community Project Community Project Plan Our first year Diploma and Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science students have worked with two local primary schools to design, deliver and evaluate sport development programmes for children in years 4-8. With the stakeholder’s primary outcomes of increasing fitness and developing fundamental movement skills through sport and physical activity, EIT students have also had to be creative to include other stakeholder requests, such as: building resilience and engagement with the participants. Through the course of academic theory and through lecture discussion, EIT students develop the skills and knowledge required to plan and deliver their projects. This learning ranges from conducting stakeholder consultations, project design, coaching theory and application, and also includes creating budgets and developing health and safety plans. The project is then delivered twice a week over 5 weeks. Throughout the project, lecturer feedback and group reflections allow EIT students to develop the organisational, technical and interpersonal skills for coaching and leading in a dynamic and real-world environment.
BSES6.003 Te Tau o Te Manawa- Health Project Community Project Plan Our second year Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science students have worked to design, develop, and evaluate socially-distanced health interventions for EIT staff members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students used Te Whare Tapa Whā as a framework for improving community health outcomes for EIT staff during uncertain times. Student projects included digital boot camps, online Pilates classes, online darts competitions, healthy eating activities, and health promotion resource development. During the course students learned to assess health needs, and plan health interventions to meet the needs of a diverse group of individuals. Students surveyed all 500 staff at EIT to determine the preferences of EIT staff members, and compared the results with the New Zealand Health Strategy. Students then developed innovative community-based projects to improve the health of EIT staff members. By participating in project-based learning, students develop the handson skills and knowledge required to effectively improve health outcomes in a reallife environment. One exciting new project in 2020 was a cooking-club developed and delivered fully-online by EIT student Mikal Hales. The cooking intervention aimed to develop healthy cooking skills for EIT staff stuck at home during the COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown. Mikal communicated regularly with all staff involved in the program, and delivered personalised recipes, along with healthy eating tips twice a week. Three quarters of staff involved in the project in 2020 reduced their daily sugar and energy intake allowing staff to lead healthier lifestyles!
If you’ve been inspired by the projects and want to get involved, please contact any of the following staff:
Stakeholder Manager: Programme coordinator: Kirsten Westwood Sheryl-Lee Judd kwestwood@eit.ac.nz sjudd@eit.ac.nz 06 830 1574 06 830 1384
Course coordinators: Dr. Sue Scott-Chapman
Dr. Patrick Lander
Senior Lecturer Principal Lecturer SScott-Chapman@eit.ac.nz plander@eit.ac.nz 06 830 1599 06 830 1571
0800 22 55 348 | sport.eit.ac.nz