KiwiSport is a New Zealand Government funding initiative that provides support for school-aged children wanting to participate in sports. Sport NZ who oversee the KiwiSport fund enlists the 14 Regional Sports Trusts (RST) to manage the fund on their behalf. The amount of funding allocated to each Sports Trust depends on how many school-aged children in each region.

Each RST usually has several KiwiSport funding rounds each year and there is a range of opportunities for Clubs and organisations to apply for funding for different projects – for example, Wellington KiwiSport funding contributes towards the Fundamental Skills project managed by Hutt City Council and delivered by local gymnastics clubs. For more information about KiwiSport in your area have a look at your local RST website.

Manawatu GymSports have developed a project aimed at making gymnastics accessible to children from low decile schools. They were recently successful in obtaining $3000 to go towards the delivery of 2 terms of Gymnastics to 20 children from 3 low decile schools in the area. KiwiSport is strong on ensuring that projects are sustainable, so as part of the project parents pay $57.50 per child and for that, they receive 20 weeks of Gymnastics sessions, a KiwiGym fun badge and certificate.

Congratulations Manawatu GymSports for thinking outside of the box and for your successful application to Sport Manawatu.