The Foundation is looking for athletes and/or support staff who have travelled to Asia through sport to provide insights into their experiences for research looking at the rising influence of Asia on sport in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Partnering with researchers from the University of Waikato, this project seeks to understand how New Zealand sports organisations, individuals and groups are engaging with sports in Asia. We will also be mapping key trends and innovations in the Asian sporting sector and their current and future impact on New Zealand sport and society.
The research will be led by Professor Holly Thorpe and Dr Tom Kavanagh at Department at Te Huataki Waiora School of Health at the University of Waikato and supported by Kirsty Sharp, sports adviser at the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
We’d like to hear from a range of individuals who have a sport connection to Asia e.g. individuals who have competed as athletes in Asia, worked as a coach, official, or sport administrator in Asia, or had involvement in sport in Asia through business or the media. It doesn’t matter if you visited Asia once twenty years ago or if you are currently living and working in Asia today – our researchers want to capture a broad range of perspectives.
There is currently no research that has explored the implications of Asia’s sporting rise on New Zealand, or research that has produced recommendations on how New Zealand sports can become ‘Asia equipped’.
How to be involved in this research:
If you have experience working, travelling, or competing in Asian countries for sport and/or sport-related purposes sometime in the past two decades, we would love to hear from you!
There are two ways that you can contribute to this study:
i) Participate in a short survey (Survey closed)
ii) Participate in an interview: If you have spent considerable time in Asian countries for sport-related purposes (i.e., competing, coaching, working), please consider doing an interview (Zoom or in-person).
To express your interest in being interviewed and for more information about the project, please email:
Professor Holly Thorpe
Dr Tom Kavanagh
This research will contribute to a report for the Aotearoa New Zealand sports sector and academic research. If you choose to participate in any aspect of this research, we will take utmost care to protect your identity as per your choosing (i.e., full or partial anonymity).
UPDATE: This survey is now closed for contributions. Keep an eye out for updates on this research.