Students at two Porirua schools have received new sports equipment and a visit from young high-performance athletes as part of a Wellington-region programme distributing 1,200 sports balls.
Ngāti Toa School and Maraeroa School were visited by representatives of the Tania Dalton Foundation and Nuku Ora on July 29 as part of the foundation’s Pass It Forward programme.
Each school received between 50 and 75 new sports balls, with larger schools receiving more.
The visits included classroom sessions, games, athlete question-and-answer sessions and opportunities for students to get outside and use the new equipment.
Among the athletes taking part were footballer and cricketer Vanessa Taylor, footballer Farina Anchico, triathlete Hayley Cornwall and tennis player Ayla Giesen.
Taylor has whānau connections to Wainui and previously played football for Wellington United, while Anchico also plays for Wellington United.
Giesen received a scholarship to attend Scots College.
Ngāti Toa School assistant principal Judy Cross said the equipment had already made an impact.
“Much appreciated the balls and different sizes for different ages. Thank you for the visit – it has made a difference in the playground.”
The Pass It Forward programme is run by the Tania Dalton Foundation in partnership with Rebel Sport and Silver Fern Sport and is designed to make sporting equipment more accessible to children.
More than 100,000 balls have been distributed to schools, clubs and community groups around New Zealand since the programme began.
Tania Dalton Foundation Scholarship Manager Georgie said access to basic equipment could make a significant difference.
“Every child deserves the chance to play, and something as simple as a new ball can open that door.”
Nuku Ora Healthy Active Learning Manager Tania Bartley said the programme also gave students the opportunity to meet young athletes.
“Not only is this getting balls in hands, but means the scholarship athletes can inspire our kōtiro, in particular, to reach for the stars.”
Nuku Ora expects another 600 balls to arrive for distribution to other Wellington-region schools.