MODIFIED SPORTS

KIWI AND AUSSIE

The schools’ experience of the programme

Velma McClellan,

Julie Leibrich,

Jennifer Bradshaw,

Jenny Neale

Wellington

‘THEY WERE PLAYING New Image Rugby. The two teams were real mixes. Girls and boys, big and small, old hands and learners, able and not so good. Both sides had players who were playing “real” netball and “real” rugby at representative level outside the school. The children were unquestionably fit, and the referee (the principal) was not in too bad a condition himself, although he looked somewhat hot and bothered in comparison with the players. The level of skill was very high among both boys and girls. Chatting with the young players after the game it became clear that in no way did they see it as inferior to the parent game. They described New Image Rugby as improving their skills for their extra-curricula sporting activities, which interestingly enough were not confined to just one or two sports.’

One of our research team made these observations in a provincial city school where 11- and 12-year-olds were playing. New Image Rugby is the second most popular KiwiSport.

The most popular KiwiSport is Kiwi Cricket We found that over three-quarters of all New Zealand primary schools are playing Kiwi Cricket and very few schools who had tried it had given it up. Both children and teachers find the equipment a positive incentive to play; it is colourful, easy to use, non-harmful and, most important, durable. The modified rules, as in New Image Rugby, as in all Aussie Sports and KiwiSport, allow children of all sorts to take part with great enjoyment; skills increase all round; children who are excluded from ‘real’ games because they are too small, or the ‘wrong’ sex, or unskilful, or uncompetitive by nature, join in without ruining the game, they have a lot of fun, and gain in fitness.

The KiwiSport programme was closely modelled on its Australian counterpart, Aussie Sports, but adapted and developed for New Zealand conditions. The differences in the sports, the rules, and the equipment are few but the programmes have, in the past, been delivered and promoted in quite different ways. For a primary school population of 400,000 New Zealand has had 14 KiwiSport Regional Co-ordinators. Australia started with only 9 Coordinators but very recently boosted its full state and regional staff to 64.

Background

KiwiSport was launched by the Hillary Commission for Recreation and Sport in May 1988. The programme was introduced in response to two government reviews. Both said young New Zealanders should be encouraged to participate in healthy and educational physical activity. Although various modified games were taught at that time most were organised on a fairly ad hoc basis. Sport, in the traditional sense of the word, was viewed by some educationalists as inappropriate for primary school children, so younger children’s sporting experience was, to a large degree, limited. If they played sport it was largely because of their parents’ judgment and initiative. The Sports Inquiry Committee in 1985 was concerned that children were being encouraged to specialise before getting any opportunity to ‘try their hand’ at a variety of sports. It was also worried that unhealthy attitudes to competition were being fostered by ‘the ugly parent syndrome’. Some parents do indeed set the wrong example and encourage poor sporting attitudes; others ‘push’ their children for selfish reasons rather than for the child’s own enjoyment. The primary school setting was seen by the Committee as the best place to start countering the negative features of competitive sport.

The KiwiSport programme is managed by the Hillary Commission for Recreation and Sport which has a statutory responsibility to encourage the development of recreation and sport for the benefit of all New Zealanders. Seventeen national sports organisations and the Ministry for Education give their support to the KiwiSport programme.

KiwiSport was designed specifically for children aged 9 to 12. The Hillary Commission hoped to have 30 percent of all primary schools playing a KiwiSport within the first year. This goal was in fact achieved within the first two months. The first step for a school is to ‘Register’ for KiwiSport with the Hillary Commission, or for Aussie Sports with the Australian Sports Commission in Canberra. Then a resource kit of information is sent and arrangement made for training a regular newsletter then arrives with, for example, lists of equipment suppliers. In New Zealand after one year there was a registration rate of 70 percent. Now it is 90 percent of all primary schools. A 1989 evaluation report on the Aussie Sports Program, reported a 26 percent take-up approximately two and a half years after the programme was introduced. This lower take-up has little to do with the quality of the games, nor with differences between Australian and New Zealanders’ attitudes to sport, but everything to do with the fact that there were fewer programme co-ordinators per child in Australia. Also, statistics do not highlight the existence of many unofficial Aussie Sports schools which are not formally registered but may be following the Aussie Sports programme, as also happens in New Zealand.

An evaluation

In July 1989, the Hillary Commission contracted an independent research team to conduct an evaluation of KiwiSport. The study included surveys of randomly-selected schools registered with the programme and schools not registered, as well as 10 individual case studies of schools using the programme. There were also surveys of the KiwiSport Regional Co-ordinators and the National Sporting Organisations’ KiwiSport Representatives.

The School-based Surveys

In July 1989 New Zealand education was in the first throes of the major administrative changes called ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’. The research team was aware that both principals and teachers were experiencing considerable pressure as a result and expected this to lessen the chances of getting replies. The rate of response was, however, exceedingly high - 88 percent for the 177 registered schools and 90 percent for the 82 non-registered schools. While the survey was designed to get the best response possible, the popularity of KiwiSport, (even the non-registered schools were very interested and thinking of registering) undoubtedly contributed to the high response rate.

The schools’ response to KiwiSport

Fewer than 2 percent of the schools registered with the programme had dropped out. Furthermore, those schools which had not registered were interested in becoming part of the programme, with about half planning to register in the immediate future. The three main reasons for using the programme were

(1) approval of the philosophy of KiwiSport;

(2) familiarity with modified games (the most commonly mentioned were New Image Rugby, Kiwi Netball and Kiwi Cricket - these are now played under the banner of KiwiSport;

(3) a response to KiwiSport promotional activities.

The main reason given for not registering was cost.

Who was using KiwiSport?

School children, aged 9- to 12-years-old (Standards 3 to Form 2 - Years 4 to 7), were the principal target group at the time of the evaluation. At Standard 3 and 4 levels (Years 4 and 5) virtually all teachers in registered schools were using KiwiSport. The number of teachers using KiwiSport with children younger than 9 was considerable: 34 percent with 5- and 6-year-olds, 58 percent with 7-year-olds, 86 percent with 8-year-olds. But in Special Classes (mainly for the intellectually handicapped) only 41 percent were using KiwiSport.

Forms 1 and 2 (Years 6 and 7) teachers said they used KiwiSport less because of

(1) children’s lack of interest in KiwiSport;

(2) a need to develop their pupil’s skills beyond that required for KiwiSport;

(3) problems that arose when trying to fit KiwiSport in with inter-school activities;

(4) the unsuitability of some KiwiSport equipment for this particular age group.

Which KiwiSports were being played in schools?

Seventeen KiwiSports were available to schools at that time. These included modified versions of hockey, cricket, rugby, rugby league, soccer, golf, athletics, badminton, basketball, tennis, table tennis, netball, softball, trampolining, orienteering, volleyball and squash. Kiwi Cricket was the most popular.

New Image Rugby, which ranked second as the most played KiwiSport in schools was also the most frequently dropped. Thirteen percent of the schools which initially took it up later stopped playing it. The reasons given by teachers for dropping New Image Rugby included

(1) children not enjoying playing it;

(2) the lack of inter-school competition;

(3) antagonistic attitudes to the game by local sports club coaches and parents.

The case studies also confirmed that an ambivalent relationship exists between traditional rugby and its New Image offspring. While teachers are aware of the game’s advantages - it is faster, safer, easier to control, develops and improves handling skills, and is fun for both boys and girls - many parents, local sport club organisers and coaches tend to view New Image Rugby with some disdain. The modified version is seen as a poor substitute for ‘the real game’. Some children, particularly the more physically able boys, tend to reflect these adult views. Yet, in those schools the research team visited it was apparent that the enthusiasm of teachers for the game can overcome negative outside influences. The excellent game described in the introduction, with its fit children and not-quite-so-fit referee suggests this to be so.

The third most commonly played KiwiSport was Kiwi Netball. This game suffers similar problems to those described of New Image Rugby; traditional female sports are subject to the same negative pressures applied to the established male sports.

Overall, the number of KiwiSports played in schools ranged from six to ten. Least popular were Kiwi Trampoline and Mini Badminton (only 4 percent were playing these sports). Cost was the main reason for not using Kiwi Trampoline while space was the principal reason for not playing Kiwi Badminton. Lack of expertise to teach a particular sport was the most frequently reported problem in a number of sports, particularly Mini Footy (a modified version of rugby league), Kiwi Golf, Orienteering, and Squash.

The work of the KiwiSport Regional Co-ordinator in schools

The role of the KiwiSport Regional Co-ordinators is to promote the programme and to provide training for teachers. Employed by the Hillary Commission, the Co-ordinators have promoted KiwiSport through a series of festivals, demonstration and in-service training days. Generally speaking, the Co-ordinators’ work in schools was valued, and their credibility appeared to be high, with schools wanting more of their attention, not less. Of all the schools using the programme, two-thirds reported having had some contact with the Regional Co-ordinators. The majority of teachers (45 percent) were satisfied with the contact they had had, although 30 percent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Very few were very dissatisfied.

Expectations of the Co-ordinators

Teachers expected the Regional Co-ordinators to provide schools with information about KiwiSport as their main task. This meant demonstrating the KiwiSport equipment, providing information about its costs, where to get hold of equipment, ways in which it might be modified to cope with skill progression, and generally giving teachers moral support to set-up and maintain their KiwiSport programmes.

The second most frequently mentioned expectation was for the Co-ordinators to provide teachers with KiwiSport training. In fact 73 percent of teachers had received some form of training; 21 percent had not. The majority of teachers (65 percent) were satisfied or very satisfied with the KiwiSport training they had received. Only 10 percent were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, but there was a strong call for more training. Most suggestions for improving training were in fact not about the quality of training but asked that the training be more accessible - that there be more of it.

The use of specialised KiwiSport coaching manuals and videos

Specialised training manuals and videos have been developed, not by the Hillary Commission but by some of the 17 national sporting organisations involved in Kiwi Sport. The penetration of these coaching aids into schools, however, was not high. The greatest number of manuals and videos are owned by those schools playing New Image Rugby- a quarter of the schools have them. Kiwi Cricket and Kiwi Netball coaching manuals and videos were also found in a reasonable proportion of schools. The next highest was Kiwi Orienteering.

The main strengths of the Kiwisport programme

Teachers were asked to state the three main strengths of KiwiSport. In all, 123 teachers made comments (see the bracketed figures). The three most frequently mentioned concepts were:

• KiwiSport increases children’s participation or involvement in physical activity (52)

• It provides a variety of sports, introduces new sports, gives a grounding for other sports while offering time to try out various sports before attempting specialisation (52)

• The programme is based on skill development and improves the variety or range of skills (40).

During the case-studies the children made a lot of positive comments about KiwiSport. The most common were, ‘It was great fun’, Fun’, ‘Exciting’, T like it because it’s fun - because all of the teams enjoy it and, you know, they’re all cheering and enjoying themselves and everything.’ One child at a country school provided an answer that sums it up:

I like any kind of sport… KiwiSport gives you the skills so you can play the proper game better.

The main problems with the KiwiSport programme

Teachers were asked to describe the three main problems with the KiwiSport programme (117 teachers responded to this question). The three most frequently mentioned categories were:

• Equipment-related: cost and access to equipment, problems with equipment storage, maintenance and modifying existing equipment (71)

• Lack of training, information, confidence and expertise among teachers about KiwiSport (32)

• Limited time available to teachers, a bad year (‘Tomorrows Schools’) (22).

The cost of KiwiSport equipment was seen by teachers as a major reason why they did not play particular Kiwi-Sports. But when this factor was considered in relation to the size of school, it did not appear to have stopped smaller schools from participating in the programme. Equipment unavailability was also a deterrent and there were several calls for a list of suppliers to be sent to schools. Arrangements to rectify this problem have been negotiated between the Hillary Commission, the various sports, and a major sports equipment distributing company. The Commission hopes this will solve the problem.

There were minor grouches from the children about the gear (‘The wickets blow over’, The ball hurts your hands’) and some which were actually the result of poor teaching (‘I hate the talks; I’d rather get into it’, ‘Kiwi Orienteering is just hunting pieces of paper’). The rules irked some of the better players (‘In Kiwi Netball we don’t really like swapping positions all the time’, In real rugby you can just pass the ball even if they touch you; I have to keep stopping all the time in New Image’). However, most of the remarks from the children were enthusiastic.

Conclusion

The low number of schools that had stopped using KiwiSport altogether, and the very few instances where one particular sport had been discontinued, were taken as positive signs that initial zeal for KiwiSport had not been stifled, despite teething problems. The overwhelming impression from the surveys was one of enthusiasm. Both users and providers agree that it is a worthwhile and beneficial modified sports education programme. It is generally seen to have increased children’s participation and to have encouraged their skill development in a variety of sports. Teachers, once trained, find the programme easy to teach and, most importantly, children like it.

Notes

The authors of this item were all members of the research group, Social Research Services and can be contacted c/o 130 Old Porirua Rd, Ngaio, Wellington 4, New Zealand.

For further reading on the sampling, methodology and findings of the KiwiSport evaluation see:

McClellan, V., Leibrich, J., Bradshaw, J. and Neale, J. (1989) An Evaluation of KiwiSport - A Hillary Commission Programme, Wellington: Hillary Commission for Recreation and Sport.

In order to register in the KiwiSport Programme a school needs to purchase a KiwiSport Resource Kit which contains a ‘how to do it’ manual and other activity-based and promotional accessories. The address for the Hillary Commission for Recreation and Sport is P.O. Box 2251, Wellington, New Zealand.

In order to register in the Aussie Sports Program a school needs to write to the Australian Sports Commission, P.O.Box 176, Belconnen, Canberra ACT, 2616, Australia.

The information concerning the Evaluation of Aussie Sports was taken from:

Clough, J. and Traill, R. (1989) The 1988 Evaluation of Aussie Sports, Canberra: The Australian Sports Commission.

Information concerning the role of education and sport was taken from

The Report of the Sports Development Inquiry Committee, (1985) Sport on the Move, Wellington.

The review of the New Zealand physical education syllabus can be found in

Department of Education, (1987) Physical Education Syllabus for Junior Classes to Form 7 with Guidelines for Early Childhood Education, Wellington: Department of Education.

Following the results of the research outlined in this item the Hillary Commission has placed special emphasis on resourcing ‘delivery systems’ to meet the expansion of KiwiSports, now found in 90 percent of all New Zealand primary schools. Special attention has been placed on teacher training.