Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
New Zealand schools place considerable emphasis on games, or sports as Americans would frase it. This reflects the outdoor, sporting live style so prized in New Zealand. The students, especially the boys, clearly reflect that interest. In school after school, the major activity that the boys took up in their free during lunch and breaks was rugby and other sports and outdoor games. Sports in New Zealand have a distinctly British flavor, but some American sports are also played.
The sports program of most schools have a variety of goals. Some of the most common include
Most schools seek to provide a chance to participate to as many students as possible rather than to a select few highly skilled players
The schools seek to create a framework in which sports can be enjoyed.
Most schools believe that valuable leadership skills are learned in playing team sports.
Provide opportunities to learn and prefect athletic skills.
Loyalty: Schools also believe that sports provide the opportunity to develop loyalty to a team, which many educators believe is a valuable learning experience.
Sportsmanship: Team members learn the importance of sportsmanship and fair play.
One distinguishing feature of sports in New Zealand is the effort to provide the opportunity for as many children as possible to participate. New Zealand schools encourage as many students as possible to participate. Takapuna Grammar, for example, puts participation at the top of the list explaining the aims of the sports program. Large schools commonly field large number of teams for the major sports. Sports have long been popular with the boys, but their appear to be growing interest among girls and increases in participation. Takapuna Grammar reported 20 netball 7 hockey, and 8 badminton teams. Auckland Boys' Grammar reports fielding about 20 rugby teams and even more cricket teams each year. Even small schools, such as St. Peter's (Gore), report 11 basket ball teams!
The schools have a first team, but additional teams are added for as many children as desire to participate. This is in sharp contrast to American and canadian schools, even very large high schools, which have a single varsity team and perhaps a junior varsity for the younger students. In America, positions on these teams are often highly competitive and no provision are made for eager students of lesser ability. One New Zealand teacher we spoke who was working in Canada as part of an exchange, told us that he was amazed when told the small number of students involved in the sports program.
Sports competitions between schools are important. Competitions are arranged not only for the first team, but also for the many teams of less skilled competitors. While considerable attention is afforded to the matches of the first teams, the matches are not the money earning extravaganzas common in games between American high schools.
The preeminent New Zealand sport is rugby, but other sports played in Britain and the United States are also popular. New Zealand schools generally follow the division common in Britain between boys' and girls' sports.
No other sport so captures the popular imagination in New Zealand like rugby. Certainly the physical nature of the sport appears to New Zealanders. A limited country like New Zealand has to concentrate on a small number of sports to be competitive on the international level. The success of the All Blacks has no doubt helped to capture the country's attention. Other British sports such as cricket, hockey, soccer are also important school sports. At some schools, popular American sports are also played, including basketball, softball, and to a lesser extent volleyball. The interest in these American sports is probably due to the large American presence in the country during World War II. The American sports, along with Rugby, are often particularly popular in schools with large numbers of Polynesian students.
Seasonal sports and outdoor activities can include:
Summer: athletics, bi- and tri-athalon, bowling (ten-pin), canoeing, cricket, cycling, rock climbing, rowing, sailing, skiing, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, tramping, volleyball, water polo, wave skiing, and yachting.
Winter: badminton, basketball, cross-country, fencing, golf, hockey, ice hockey, judo, rugby, rugby league, skiing, soccer, squash, table tennis, trampoline, target shooting, and weight training.
[????: unihoc, horse trialling, recreational riding, touch sevens
Girls generally participate in different team sports than the boys, generally following the British pattern. The summer sports are primarily tennis and swimming while the winter sports are netball and hockey. The most common sports are: athletics and netball. Some girls play basketball rather than netball. Unlike Britain, a few girls also play cricket, but unlike the United States, girls rarely play soccer at the competitive inter-school level. Despite New Zealand's image as an outdoor, athletic country, we found New Zealand girls much less interested in sports than their American counterparts. Quite commonly at coed schools, boys can be seen playing sports during their morning break or lunch and more often or not the girls would cluster in small groups to chat and watch the boys play. We did visit with a few girls playing rugby for an inter-school match. At Lincoln High School a small group of girls were practicing. At Cashmere High School coed teams were participating in a physical education program. Most other common sports the boys play are also played by the girls, including: include athletics, badminton, diving, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, rowing, sailing, skiing, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis, trampoline, volleyball, water polo, and others.
Auckland schools in 1992 initiated a new Fairplay Sports Charter, an initiative promoted by the Hillary Commission. The schools adopting the charter agree that the students playing sports will: enjoy themselves, play within the rules, respect the referees and umpires, respect the opposition and their supporters, be gracious winners and dignified losers, and play hard but fair. The charter is a reflection of the growing discipline problem at some schools. The Fairplay initiative have been introduced in an attempt to reduce aggressive, biased behavior during matches. Reports of physical altercations, racial slurs, and abuse of officials have increased in recent years.
