Sports funding has positive spinoff
Paraparaumu College has received a $3774 grant from the New Zealand Community Trust for new sports equipment. Nick Cooper, the college’s sports director, was thankful for the grant.
“Due to the player developmentfocused structures we employ at Paraparaumu College, we are seeing a continual increase in participants . . . each year.
“Sport is user pays in schools and having quality cricket balls to use for matches is beyond the income recovered from parents.
“Having higher quality balls for matches helps to encourage players when they see the increase in performance.
“A sport of genuine growth at Paraparaumu College over the past two to three seasons has been cricket, where we have doubled in participants.
“Paraparaumu College participates in the College Sport Wellington competition structure. And with our community focus on keeping fees at a manageable level for our student families, we applied to NZCT for funding toward the overall cost of cricket match balls for the season.
“We are extremely grateful to the support of NZCT in providing this funding as it has allowed us to use our playing fees for additional training equipment and playing uniforms, which the costs of these match balls would usually take up.
“We have seen immediate results on the pitch with this assistance from NZCT with our 1st XI winning the Ross Taylor Bat T20 Championship, held in Palmerston North in March.
“Our college believes that positivity enhances students’ wellbeing, which has a direct impact on pride within themselves and our college. Assisting our students to participate in sport fosters our school CARE values of Collaboration, Active learning, Respectfulness and Effective self-management.
“We also believe that sport and its teachings go hand in hand with our core values — and the wonderful support from NZCT has enhanced our ability to deliver our core values within our sporting environment.”