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Kia ora koutou,
Thanks for your feedback on the sports-flavoured reflection I wrote in the newsletter a couple of weeks ago. It obviously resonated with a number of families!
This prompted me to think: How many of our children play a sport, and are we encouraging a broad range of options or channelling them into one specific area when they're younger?
Rose, as Sports Lead, has collected some great information and pulled it together into an overview which we thought you might like to read. (A quick disclaimer: the student input was from the senior school and represents a snapshot in time, rather than a full picture of all activities children may be involved in over the year.)
In our Positive Education Model, Positive Health is one of the main pillars. This domain encompasses several key areas such as:
Movement & Physical Activity (Sports, PE, fitness)
Sleep & Rest
Nutrition & Hydration
Somatic Awareness & Mindfulness
Nervous System Regulation & Proactive Self-Care
As we know - a healthy body supports a healthy mind!
Big appreciation to our parent coaches, managers and supporters - we wouldn't be able to give our children these experiences without your energy and perseverance!
Here we go:
August 2026 Sports Overview - Rose Ellis
(To view a PDF version of the report including graphs click here)
Throughout 2026, our students have had the opportunity to participate in a range of sporting opportunities across the year.
Term 1 included Junior Netball, Floorball, Mini Polo and Softball. Terms 2 and 3 have included Senior Netball and Miniball.
It is important to acknowledge that many of our students participate in sports outside of school. Throughout the year, our students are involved in surf life saving, jiujitsu, capoeira, dance, cricket, football, rugby, swimming, hockey, sailing, gymnastics, and running/athletics clubs. This range of extracurricular commitments may contribute to lower participation in some school sports particularly when seasons overlap or students choose to prioritise club commitments.
A tally shows that out of 60 students in the senior school, 46 children are involved in one or more of the sports listed above (2026).
In addition to regular sports teams, our students have represented Worser Bay School at a number of Eastern Zone events. Competitors have participated in the EZ Cross Country, Football Tournament, and Miniball Tournament, with students also preparing to represent at the upcoming Futsal Tournament in Term 3, and EZ Athletics and EZ Floorball in Term 4.
A particular highlight this year was the refreshed approach to our WBS Cross Country. By relocating the event to a local park and inviting whānau to attend and cheer on students, we created a more authentic and supportive event that closely reflected the Eastern Zone competition environment. This approach helped build students' readiness to compete and strengthened whānau engagement. Pleasingly, all senior students participated in the school cross country.
Sports participation trends (2022–2026)
A review of sports participation over the past five years shows that WBS continues to provide a broad range of sporting opportunities, with participation varying across sports, year levels and gender.
Netball remains a consistently popular option for girls, particularly in Years 1-4. However, there are signs that participation in the senior school (Winter netball Years 5/6) is becoming less consistent, with Year 5/6 teams fluctuating over the five-year period.
Floorball has demonstrated the strongest and most consistent participation across all year levels. Team numbers have generally remained stable, and female participation has steadily increased in most cohorts over time. This suggests Floorball is an accessible sport that appeals to a wide range of students and may be filling a niche. Interestingly, uptake is stronger in Term 4 than in Term 1, it would be interesting to look into the factors that contribute to this trend.
Mini Polo participation has remained relatively stable, although the number of girls participating has decreased in recent years. This may be influenced by competing extracurricular commitments or simply the interests of different peer groups.
The introduction of Softball in 2025 has been encouraging, with participation maintained into 2026. While only one team has been entered each year, this suggests there is interest in expanding sporting opportunities and exposing students to new sports.
Miniball has shown fluctuating participation. Year 3/4 participation has increased in 2026, particularly among girls, while Year 5/6 participation has declined. This may indicate a need to better understand what barriers exist for older students continuing in the sport.
The data suggests several key trends:
Floorball is emerging as one of the school's most sustainable and inclusive sports.
Participation patterns differ considerably between junior and senior year levels, particularly in Netball and Miniball.
Girls are well represented across most sports, although participation varies considerably between sports and cohorts from year to year.
Students with older siblings who have gone through the school show a greater uptake in sport compared with those who do not.
Introducing new sporting opportunities, such as Softball, appears to have been successful and may encourage broader participation.
Next steps:
Track participation by cohort over time to identify where engagement increases or declines as students move through the school.
Investigate participation barriers for sports with lower uptake, including seasonality and other commitments.
Continue to diversify sporting opportunities by maintaining regular and engaging programmes, and exploring new sports that appeal to a wide range of students (eg. Softball).
Gather data on junior students’ participation in community sports/extracurricular activities to better understand the impact of outside-of school commitments.
Review the impact of school initiatives (eg. the refreshed Cross Country model).
Continue to monitor gender participation across sports to ensure equitable opportunities.
Ngā mihi nui
Jude
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