This article looks at the difficult issue of suicide in young athletes. If you would like help for yourself, a loved one, or your club, please contact us, or any of the other organisations listed at the end of this post. This post...
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Happy New Year! It’s great to have you on board with Sports Chaplaincy in 2019. As the clock struck midnight on 31 December, and 2019 kicked off, many people made their annual New Year’s Resolutions. However, I’m guessing most bog-standard New Year’s Resolutions...
In September I served as Sports Chaplain in a girl’s high school hockey tournament. The following is a summary of my week as a hockey tournament chaplain: Sunday I attended the Referees and Managers’ Meeting. The Tournament Director introduced me, while I briefly...
Tag chaplain Neil Evans represented the Cook Islands in the over 50s division of the Tag World Cup last month. The event, held over four days,took place in Coff’s Harbour, Australia, with 32 nations competing. Both men and women play at this tournament, in...
This series is based on The Mental Health Foundation’s Five Ways to Wellbeing. Now in Part 4 we explore Keep learning, me ako tonu. See Part 1: Why sportspeople need to connect meaningfully with others, why it’s hard, and what you can do about it; Part 2: ‘Greedy, selfish and self-centred’...
Kiwis are helping develop Sports Chaplaincy ministry in France. Matt Gwynne Matt Gwynne, from Blenheim, now lives in Biarritz, on the south-west coast of France. He has been there for five years, while working for Youth with a Mission (YWAM). ‘A significant part of my vision...
Enroy Talamahina and Rebecca Hawkins represented SCNZ at AUT Sports Performance Research Institute’s Ethnic Diversity Think Tank. Ethnic Diversity in NZ Professor Paul Spoonley began with the changing demographics in our country, which are most seen in Auckland. According to Spoonley, Auckland is the...
Special guest: Sam Malcolmson Today we have a guest post from former All White Sam Malcolmson. Sam Malcolmson was one of my early sporting heroes. He was part of the legendary 1982 squad, the first team from NZ to make the FIFA World Cup...
Above: Ra Koia and Phil Pawley meet at the SCNZ supporters meeting. Thirty people attended the first Auckland SCNZ supporters meeting on 12 July. They ate pizza, met new National Director Phil Pawley, and also heard about SCNZ’s work around the country. ...
Above: Enroy Talamahina (Auckland), Kevin Goldsbury (Wellington), Paul Martell (Wellington), Shane Auld (Southland), Rebecca Hawkins (National Office), Willie Bryant (Manawatū) and John Parker (Waikato) discuss the need for Sports Chaplains. How many Sports Chaplains do we want? National Director Phil Pawley posed...
This post is taken from Roger Lipe’s blog for Sports Chaplains, sports mentors and character coaches. Roger describes the work of a Sports Chaplain in vivid, sensory language, so that you can understand Sports Chaplaincy from the inside. You’ll notice straight away though that...
SCNZ Manawatū Leader Willie Bryant picked up two prizes at the Basketball NZ Awards on 19 May. The awards for Willie Bryant were for Service to Officiating, as well as a Long Service Award. Among his many roles in basketball, Willie is chaplain for...
Board chair Martyn Norrie presented a Chaplaincy Award for Grant Harris at the SCNZ leadership hui in March. Grant Harris is chaplain to the New Zealand Breakers basketball team. Here is his citation, given by Ross Georgiou. Grant Harris likes to have multiple...
Board member Mel Atkins presented a Service Award for Kevin Prewett at the SCNZ leadership hui in March. Here is his citation, given by Ross Georgiou. Kevin Prewett has played golf with some of New Zealand’s top talent. He loves his golf and...
A Service Award for Sue Morris, former New Zealand cricketer, was presented at the SCNZ leadership hui in March. Here is her citation, given by Ross Georgiou. Sue Morris is someone that has achieved in sport in her own right. She knows about...
Board member Kevin Prewett presented a Chaplaincy Award for Shane Auld at the SCNZ leadership hui in March. Shane Auld is chaplain to the Southland Sharks basketball team. Here is his citation, given by Ross Georgiou. Shane Auld knows what it is to...
This series is based on The Mental Health Foundation’s Five Ways to Wellbeing. Now in Part 3 we explore Take notice, me aro tonu, looking at mindfulness for sportspeople. See Part 1: Why sportspeople need to connect meaningfully with others, why it’s hard, and what you can do about it; and...
Cede Network wants to help Sports Chaplains around the world; therefore they have made a series of short advice videos for Sports Chaplains. This series is called Sports Chaplaincy 101. Topics of advice videos for Sports Chaplains Sports Chaplaincy 101 has topics especially...
The Sports Chaplaincy NZ 2018 hui for board, staff and Regional Leaders was held at the Ramada Resort by Lake Rotorua 9-11 March. Thirty people attended from throughout New Zealand, as well as Germany and Scotland. Leadership transition The hui was especially memorable as...
Staff from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes visited NZ in February, in order to meet sports ministry leaders, and discuss how they might serve here. Who are Fellowship of Christian Athletes? Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) began in the USA in 1954. Founder...
Sportsmanship in 2017 I’ve chosen my favourite moments of sportsmanship in 2017. These are moments where athletes have reminded us about keeping sport in perspective. They remind us that you don’t have to win at all costs, cheat, abuse umpires, and denigrate opponents. Yes,...
Lots of athletes make New Year’s resolutions, like Ryan Lochte. You know Ryan Lochte? Twelve Olympic medals in swimming: he’d be really famous if it wasn’t for another guy called Michael Phelps. Anyway, Ryan Lochte made a New Year’s resolution to stop drinking soft...
This series is based on The Mental Health Foundation’s Five Ways to Wellbeing. Here in Part 2 we explore Give, tukua, looking at some generous sportspeople and why it’s good to be one. See also Part 1: Why sportspeople need to connect meaningfully with others, why...
In an earlier post, Why sportspeople need to connect with others, why it’s hard, and what you can do about it, I mentioned Jesse Sene-Lefao’s ‘Iron Squad’, a safe place for sportspeople to connect in Yorkshire, England. Recently, I chatted with Sports Chaplain James Poliko,...
Pictured from left: chaplains Antonio Hall, James Poliko, Andrew Kerr at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland. Our Rugby League World Cup experience ‘Profile was the big winner for SCNZ,’ says New Zealand chaplaincy coordinator Andrew Kerr, speaking about his Rugby League World Cup experience. For...
The Phil Pawley interview – everything you wanted to know about our next CEO. Tell us about your early life. Phil Pawley: I was born in Pt Chevalier (Auckland). We moved to Mangere East when I was three, then to Port Charles on the...
Phil Pawley has been announced as the new SCNZ CEO. He will replace Ross Georgiou as the new SCNZ CEO from late February 2018. Phil is currently Senior Pastor at Morrinsville Baptist Church, where he has served for the last eight years. During a...
SCNZ, in partnership with Sports Chaplaincy Australia, is providing Rugby League World Cup chaplaincy in Australia, NZ as well as PNG. Over 20 chaplains will be serving. England, the USA, and Samoa have their own team chaplains. In addition all match venues have chaplains...
This series is based on The Mental Health Foundation’s Five Ways to Wellbeing. We begin with Connect, me whakawhanaunga. Here we focus specifically on helping sportspeople maintain meaningful relationships. New Zealand-born rugby league player Jesse Sene-Lefao is part of a group called the ‘Iron Squad’. ‘Iron...
It’s really natural for us to base our identity and self-worth on our performance (see Identity in Sport – you are more than your performance), so how can we avoid this trap? How then can you get your identity in sport sorted? 1....
Jonathan Armogam achieved his goal of becoming a professional footballer at the age of 23. Following his first season, he was being sought by some of the top teams in South Africa. Yet while his career was taking off, he was struggling with his...
Who are we? Sports Chaplaincy New Zealand (SCNZ) is a group of people from a variety of churches who love sport as well as sportspeople. We think sports organisations are a vital part of the fabric of our community, providing a sense of belonging...
Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to the Sports Chaplaincy New Zealand blog For many young people in New Zealand, to represent their country at sport is their ultimate dream. It certainly was for me. Sport first captured me during the 1982 FIFA World Cup,...