Hawke’s Bay  Secondary School Sport Sanctioning Guidelines 2024 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The sanctioning of secondary school sport has been developed as a direct response to the needs of participants, schools and event organisers. The purpose of this document is to provide some high-level guidelines to assist event organisers in their process of planning and delivering events. These guidelines are now underpinned by the recently developed Balance is Better principles, supported by international, national and regional evidence.  

Sport NZ has developed the Balance is Better philosophy to inform and provide a framework that puts the needs of the participant first. It originated from the Sport NZ Talent Plan 2016-2022 that focused on growing the capability of the sporting system to better prepare athletes in their development phase to help them realise their potential.  

The focus of the Balance is Better philosophy is on the “why” young people play sport – to have fun, be challenged, develop, and improve, be part of a team or group, and enjoy time with friends.