Little Legends relay helps health message
The Little Legends $10K relay is back for a fourth year as part of health insurer nib and the Blues’ mission to encourage families to look after the health of their kids from a young age.
The race will involve 10 junior rugby clubs and intermediate schools from around Auckland, North Harbour and Northland, who will compete in a halftime relay race at the Blues vs Hurricanes match at Eden Park on Saturday, May 11.
Registrations are open until April 29 and selected teams will compete for a $10,000 prize to support the health and wellbeing of their junior players.
Each team will consist of 10 relay runners aged between 11 and 13.
Chief executive of nib Rob Hennin said the relaywas “a great way for parents to encourage their kids to be fit and active, while the kids have a once in a lifetime opportunity of competing at the iconic Eden Park.
“As parents, it can be difficult to know how to best look after your children’s health and wellbeing,” Hennin said.
“The relay is part of our commitment to helping Kiwi parents be proactive about taking care of their kids’ health and establishing good wellbeing habits early.”
Recent research by private health insurer nib New Zealand revealed that two in five (43%) of parents surveyed weren’t clear about which health screening checks were appropriate for their kids and a quarter didn’t think it was necessary for their children to have annual general health screening checks.
Almost half of parents surveyed said their child was not up to date or has never received a hearing check (49%), eye check (48%) or dental check (44%).
One-in-five (23%) parents said their child was not up to date or has never received their immunisations.
“Alarming statistics like these are why initiatives like the Little Legends $10K Relay are a great way to promote positive habits and raise awareness of the importance of being proactive with your health from a young age,” Hennin said.
“Proactive health checks help keep kids healthy by catching potential illnesses early.”
The insurer will offer free general health checks to the public with its mobile checkup clinic at an Auckland CBD pop up in the week leading up to the Blues v Hurricanes game on May 11 to make it easier for families to be proactive with their health.
nib has also developed helpful tools and resources to inform Kiwi families on the health checks they need at every stage of life and how to stay on top of them via the nib Warrant of Wellness app.
Last year’s winning team from Glen Eden Intermediate School used the $10,000 prize to help with travel to sports camps, basic first aid courses and sports equipment upgrades.
Glen Eden Intermediate director of sport Vaimoana Vaai said of last year’s win: “This is huge for us - we encourage all sorts of sports and experiences, so this prize means we can provide even more opportunities for our kids. We’re really thankful to the crew from nib for making this all happen.”
The prize money also went towards new rugby gear and entries into local boys’ and girls’ sports teams for some students.
Blues chief executive Andrew Hore said that the Blues were excited to support this initiative and to host the relay on their home turf as part of the half-time entertainment.