Francesca Rudkin: 2025 saw great athletic success but NZ sport needs soul searching

At this time of the year it’s nice to reflect on some of the good things that happened throughout the year, and just days ago the nominees for the 63rd Halberg Awards were announced. There have been some huge moments in sport this year - from world championships to domestic and international recognition, and the annual Halberg Awards nominations provide a snapshot of the breadth of Kiwi achievement.   What’s really cool to see is how track and field athletics, snow sports and a wonderfully mixed collection of other sports dominate the list of contenders for top honours. It’s been a year where individuals have excelled and teams have done pretty well, but suffered from inconsistency.  I’d like to thank Geordie Beamish, nominated for Sportsman of the Year, for providing us all with the best feel good moments of the year. At the World Athletic Championships in Tokyo he survived a fall in the 3000m steeplechase semi-final, during which a rival stood on his face, and still managed to come in second.   I thought that was going to be my most viewed sports video of 2025 – but it was surpassed days later by watching Beamish in the final become the first New Zealander to ever win track gold at a world athletics championships. It still makes me smile just thinking about the end of that race. His ‘late kick’ is a life lesson on finishing well.   Along with the extraordinary talented Hamish Kerr, who had another stellar year, and the success of emerging superstar Sam Ruthe, we’ve seen a genuine resurgence in New Zealand athletics. Alpine and snowboarders are well represented among the finalists, thanks to elite performances on international circuits. Alpine ski racer Alice Robinson is on fire at present, and I’m told by those in the know that freeskiers Luca Harrington, nominated in the Sportsman of the Year category, and Finley Melville Ives, nominated in the Emerging category, are very much medal contenders heading into the Winter Olympics next year.   But amongst all the highlights there’s also some soul searching – or maybe CEO searching - that needs to be done in 2026. The resignations of three high-profile CEOs in major sports — New Zealand Rugby’s Mark Robinson, Netball New Zealand’s Jennie Wyllie, and New Zealand Cricket’s Scott Weenink, mark a significant shake-up in national sporting leadership in 2025. Robinson’s departure from NZ Rugby follows years of navigating commercial and structural change within the sport.   In one of the biggest and messiest stories of the year, Wyllie’s exit from Netball NZ has prompted calls for greater transparency, and reflection of both governance and performance, particularly in light of contentious decisions about coaching roles.   And in Cricket, Weenink stepped down after public disputes over the sport’s direction, especially regarding the future of domestic T20 formats - suggesting there are deep strategic disagreements about how the game should evolve in New Zealand.   Clearly there’s some uncertainty ahead for three of our biggest sporting codes, but these changes also bring opportunities, a chance for fresh vision and leadership and, hopefully, better entertainment and performances for fans.   In the meantime, congratulations to all the Halberg nominees.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.