Upcoming Sport Leader Takes Up New Role With Sport New Zealand

Junior Armstrong continues to rise through the ranks of sport leadership roles, 10 years after completing study at EIT Hawke’s Bay.

Junior is leaving Sport Hawke’s Bay, where he’s had a range of roles, after ten years, to take up a key role at Sport New Zealand. He will be based in Hawke’s Bay as a local delivery consultant which is aimed at providing leadership, influence and support to the regional sport trust network as well as national sport organisations. He starts in November.

“I’m incredibly excited about the new role, which keeps me in the Bay and enables me to continue to make a positive difference to the health and wellbeing of our community, especially with tamariki (children 5-11), and rangatahi (young people 12-18).

“I’ve been fortunate to have some amazing opportunities with Sport Hawke’s Bay culminating in my last role as general manager for Sport and Physical Activity.

"It has been a great experience to work alongside some leading administrators in sport and health from Hawke’s Bay over the past 10 years and I now feel that the time is right to take on similar challenges and projects at a national level."

Sport Hawke’s Bay chief executive Mark Aspden says it’s fantastic to see a local rise through the ranks from being a student at EIT Hawke’s Bay through the his first role at Sport Hawke’s Bay as an Active Living Advisor for Flaxmere in the Health team.

“Junior has also been our WorkFit Coordinator, Regional Sports Director, Education Team Leader and finally General Manager Sport and Physical Activity.

“Over this time Junior has been a great asset to the whanau here at Sport Hawke’s Bay and he is a big loss. However, it’s is great that he is staying in the sport sector and will be able to work across a number of regional projects on a national scale.

“Junior is proof that if you stick at it there is great pathway for rangatahi from Hawke’s Bay through the play, active recreation, sport and health sector”.

As he looks back over a decade at the regional sports trust Junior has many highlights such as supporting youth, schools [sports coordinators and principals], clubs, sports organisations, and communities to work towards aspirations important to them.

“Reshaping the HB secondary schools’ sports awards and delivering the event three times recognising the outstanding achievements and service in secondary school sport and being selected to complete the relaunched Sport NZ Future Leaders leadership programme in 2018 are also fond memories.

“I also was a guest speaker with my brother Levi at the Sport NZs annual sport and recreation conference in 2019 presenting on the impact of sport in my early years.

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