Recreation comes out on top for New Zealanders

The New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA) has welcomed the publication of the Active NZ Survey today by Sport New Zealand. The results of this nationwide survey show that recreation is a top priority for New Zealanders.

When people who had been physically active in the past seven days were asked how they participated, the top five activities were recreational; such as walking, jogging or playing at a local park.

NZRA CEO Andrew Leslie said that the data from the survey was invaluable. “The Active NZ Survey has given us a great insight into the activities that New Zealanders are currently participating in, and we’re encouraged that recreation features so highly in each section”.

“We are particularly interested in the locations that adults and young people are recreating in; a huge number are using facilities such as pools, playgrounds, parks and fields every week. We also noted that 63% of young people and 62% of adults are only participating in non-competitive activities. This is really encouraging for us as an organisation, as we are constantly encouraging the sector to provide a wide range of quality places and spaces for recreation”.

“Our quality programmes such as Poolsafe and Green Flag exist to ensure that locations such as these are always available and of a high standard, and our recent advocacy work on the long-term plans of councils across the country has ensured that many local authorities have made fantastic provisions for recreation in their ten-year plan”.

“One of the key points is that 42% of adult participants are choosing to do their recreation on roads and footpaths; making it the highest-ranked location. This clearly highlights a need for integrated planning, ensuring that recreation is well considered and provided for in the development and design of land use in urban environments”, said Mr Leslie.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Sport NZ and using the data they have collected to champion high-quality recreation across New Zealand”, he concluded.

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