I have just returned from the 5th IOC woman in sport forum that was hosted by the USOC in Los Angeles. There were over 800 participants from 140 countries gathered to meet in the city that hosted the Olympic games in 1984.

“Together, stronger” was the theme. The speakers topics were diverse ranging from HRH of Jordon and how they have formed peace for sport organisations in the middle east to the CEO of P&G and how they are using their products in thanking the mothers who support sport and therefore encouraging those mothers to get their daughters into sport. I spoke about using athletes commissions as a vehicle to bring woman through to leadership in sport organisations and the IOC’s Athletes Career program where we are building the “complete athlete”.

On the field of play woman represent up to 48% of competitors with London being the first games where woman can compete in every discipline. Although it is to be noted that men don’t compete in synchronised swimming. And to date there are only 3 National Olympic Committees that have never had female representation at a games (all middle east countries).

My highlight was Geena Davis (actress and former athlete – archery) spoke about the media and how they play a huge role in forming perceptions and behaviours from the lack of female cartoon hero’s to the lack of air time in the US for woman’s sport which has fallen from 4% to 1% in the last few years!!! There is much work to be done here in all countries. Especially as one of the fastest growing markets out there is woman in sport and woman are the biggest consumers. Geena was highly entertaining and had fantastic research and solutions to share.

I couldn’t help feel proud and lucky as here in NZ I have grown up with the perception girls can do anything and competed in a sport where girls and boys could compete on an even playing field so I never really met the prejudice that some woman face in trying to become a top sports person. I also grew up with woman as our leaders from the queen to the governor general, prime minister and our CEO of yachting back when I started competing was female. So I always felt there were no obstacles to what I wanted to achieve.

Today in New Zealand we are still short of female representation on boards and leadership in the corporate and sporting worlds. Change does take time but there is enough research out there now to prove that balance and diversity on boards is beneficial for the performance of the organisation, so it is just a matter of time before more woman have the willingness and confidence to put their hands up and stand up!

I have never been so proud to be a NZer as I have over this last month.

I have to admit that in the past I have not been a big rugby fan. It wasn’t a sport I knew much about and I couldn’t understand what was so great about watching a bunch of testosterone fuelled men beat each other up in a paddock.
I also have to sheepishly admit that I was jealous of the Allblacks! Here I was an individual athlete in a minority sport struggling to make ends meet and to see the Allblacks fully pimped made me see red. Even more so when I was getting World Class results and the media weren’t that interested - especially if the Allblacks captain sprained his big toe. Jealousy can really distort reality.

The Rugby World Cup has so changed my perceptions over the last 6 weeks as the competition unfolded. I felt so proud to be a kiwi and am now one of the Allblacks biggest fans! Over the cup I gained an understanding of this very technical game. I found myself caught up in the rugby fever and excitement and was yelling and screaming like a maniac. I became a Rugby expert in those final two weeks and was yelling instructions to the team “ hold onto the ball, don’t kick it” and some expletives to go with it all.  Now I fully appreciate the talent, athleticism and professionalism of this team they handled the biggest pressure – the whole nations wellbeing on their shoulders, they rose above it and took that win it was AWESOME. Big ups to the team and all the support crew behind them it truly was a great win. 

Over the last couple of months I have been working with the elite athletes from Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa and Vanuatu. This initiative is part of Oceania’s Voices of the Athletes Program.  Our team goes into the islands and we conduct interactive workshops for the athlete and their entourage on Peak performance, Anti Doping, Stop HIV, Go Green and the athletes Career Program.

This was all in preparation for the Pacific Games. The Pacific Games is like the Olympic Games for the Pacific Island nations and was developed after world war two to bring all the 29 small islands together in the region for sport after it had been so divided during the war. Australia and New Zealand weren’t included as they would have dominated the games, this would have defeated the idea of a “friendly” games. The games are staged every 4 years with over 3500 athletes competing in 29 different sports over 2 weeks. This year the games were in New Caledonia

It has been so rewarding working with the island athlete they are so grateful for any assistance and knowledge you can share with them. It also makes me realise how lucky NZ athletes are and the facilities we have. In Tonga the weight lifting team train in a make shift weight room, that is a carport. It has the minimum weights, bars and benches but the passion that these athletes were training with surely made up for the lack of facilities.

I’ve recently been elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee which is an amazing opportunity for me to be involved in Olympic sports at the highest level. As there are only fifteen athletes out of 115 members I feel privileged as now I have the chance to meet face to face with world sporting leaders and are able to influence some of the big Olympic issues!There are a few things in particular that I’d like to work on whilst I’m in this position. My passion is with the athletes Career Program which is all about empowering athletes for their future. To make them aware that sport is an amazing vehicle for life opportunities that can help them in their future career paths.I also feel as though communication between administrators and sports people is often poor - this needs to be improved through the awareness of athlete’s commissions.Finally, I’d like to draw attention to our Oceania Island Athletes because it would be fantastic to get their athletes to Olympic qualifying standards.Of course there’s a lot of work to be done here and it all starts with competent administrators and coaches. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to my new role!

Earlier this month I was in Doha, Qatar for the 9th World Conference on Sport and Environment. I was there representing Oceania in my role as an International Olympic Committee Athletes Commission member!  The theme  - “Playing for a Greener Future”.


The IOC has a  relationship with the United Nations and have an opportunity for the Olympic Movement to showcase the contribution of the sports movement to the sustainable development. This will happen at the United Nations Conference on the environment and development  in 2012 (Rio plus 20)  Earth Summit  The IOC will be presenting on what sport it doing for the future.  This will be based on the amazing job London 2012 games is doing and what Vancouver 2010 games had lead the way doing as far as Mega sporting events and the sustainability of the environment.

There is a huge amount of resource out here now for sports events to follow guidelines and measurement tools on sustainability within their event that can save money and the environment.
http://www.london2012.com/documents/locog-publications/london-2012-sustainability-events-guidelines.pdf

Throughout the conference presentations there were many references to the role of using athletes as ambassadors for the messaging and the importance of education for young people about the environment.
I was proud to present to the 400 delegates on “project Litefoot” a Kiwi charitable trust that is using a few of our top athletes as role models to set an example of what you can do.
Michael Campbell, Conrad Smith, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Kereopa, The Evers Swindell Twins and myself.
We have all undertaken to reduce our footprint and the cool thing is that the steps we took saved us money and the environment.
Check out this website and see what you can do to make a difference.
http://www.projectlitefoot.org/

Shayne and I got to walk the Humpridge track beginning of March with some of the most inspirational everyday NZers.
Most of the trampers came from Christchurch, their houses had been destroyed, they were so brave and locked their houses up and came and destressed themselves on one of NZ's finest walks. I was the youngest in the group - but I tell you I could barely keep up with our team - such a fit, healthy, full of vitality group - amazing role models all of them.

At the end of the tramp the organisors asked was there anything they could have done better to make the experience more enjoyable? I couldn't think of anything, the food was amazing, the beds were so comfortable, the showers were hot, didn't have to carry my pack, Graeme the guide was so knowledgeable and interesting and all the staff were friendly and so helpful!!!! What more can I say? 

The walk was fantastic!!! What I did enjoy was getting to destinations that were so interesting. The hutt at the top of the ridge had fantastic vista's and amazing rock formations and lakes at the top. For me the highlight was Port Craig, on the 2nd night. being able to walk around the old saw mill and village that was built there in 1906. The old school house is still there and much of the machinery from the mill. 

This was my first ever tramp in NZ and will not be our last for sure. If you are thinking about doing a tramp in NZ the Humpridge is fantastic. It is the only private overnight walk in NZ and all the funds raised goes to the Tuatapere Trust which gives money back to the community. We all tend to make the statement "one day I would love to do this....." Take the next step book your tickets and get out there and give it a go!

At the end of January I got to go on my first ever cruise on the Pacific Pearl's lifestyle cruise.
The ship sailed from Auckland to Sydney over the  4 days. Being a lifestyle cruise there were many workshops and activities for the passengers to partake in. I got to do my Let Go workshops over the 4 days. Janice McLennan came aboard and did stress management workshops and Jonny Williams and Kristie came aboard and did dance classes and we all performed on the ships final night show!!!! We all had an absolute ball and all our workshops were  well received by the passengers - it was so rewarding and fun. We all look forward to the next one!!!

Barbara ( the godmother -LOL)  and Jonny performing on the Pacific Pearls final show night

One of the most amazing experiences at the end of last year was being the god mother of the Pacific Pearl and being involved in the Maori Blessing Ceremony and then of course the whole bottle smashing extravaganza " I name this ship Pacific Pearl, may god bless her and all who sail in her" - I was paranoid I would forget the words as I was hoisted up the circus ring!!! It was a fabulous party P&O did and awesome job and I feel so privileged to have been asked to be the god mother.

by Maryke Penman

 

As the second quarter of the State Beach Series gets under way, top contenders are emerging as they compete for a share of the $14,900 cash prize pool to be awarded at the conclusion of the series.

 

Among these is five-time Olympian Barbara Kendall. Having competed in each of the four stand up paddle races so far, Kendall is currently in second place on the series leaderboard.

 

The mother of two has a busy lifestyle as she juggles various roles on the International Olympic Committee as well as being a motivational speaker, but says she sees the Beach Series as a priority each week.

 

“I spend about 90 days a year doing honorary work for various committees and organizations so it’s really busy,” says Kendall.

 

“But the beach series keeps me honest in terms of where I am with my fitness. Having such an irregular lifestyle I try and keep it as a focus on Tuesdays and I schedule all my appointments and travels around it,” she says.

 

Following 21 years competing at the top of her sport, Kendall says she finds it hard to maintain her fitness without the motivation of future competitions.

 

“Usually I don’t push myself like I used to, I’ve become more of a cruiser. So the beach series is good in that it makes me do one really hard aerobic fitness session every week and I’ll dig it in,” says Kendall.