Rikki Swannell

Sports Broadcaster

Rikki has been a sports broadcaster for 15 years, and now works in a freelance capacity as a commentator, reporter and event MC. She can largely be heard on Sky Sport, where she is a regular commentator on netball, rugby and tennis, and on the World 7s series, working for World Rugby. She started her career as a journalist at Radio Sport and Newstalk ZB and has covered everything from snooker and darts, to cricket and rowing, Tokyo Olympics, Commonwealth Games and various World Cups.

Symone Tafuna'i

NZ Sprinter

Symone Tafunai is truly one to watch in the NZ athletics scene, @symonetafunai at the age of 22, recently placing 3rd at nationals in the female 100m with an impressive 100m PB of 11.83 and is a strong performer in the NZ woman’s relay team, targeting inclusion for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. 

Symone is an Auckland university graduate, currently working at TVNZ where she aims to show and encourage other fellow young Samoan and Pacific Islanders that they can follow their dreams. She aspires to become a social sports digital reporter - mixing her passions together. Symone’s journey through her own mental health and physical battles has allowed her to overcome these battels and accomplish some of her goals she had set for herself, all with the help of her family and her wider team. She hopes to use her platform to normalise these struggles athletes and non-athletes experience to achieve their own successes. Watch this space.

Arizona Leger 

Emerging Director, Counties Manukau Rugby Union

Arizona Leger is a proud child of Oceania being of Samoan, Maori, Tongan and Fijian heritage. She was born and raised here in Aotearoa. She has no fear ‘venturing into the unknown’ to break new grounds of opportunity and equality for all young women. In 2018, Arizona was appointed to the New Zealand Ministerial Advisory Group to review the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). She was then nominated to attend the G(irls)20 Summit in Tokyo as the Indigenous Delegate in May 2019. Most recently, Arizona was selected for the Kau Tuli, the youth steering group for New Zealand’s Ministry for Pacific Peoples and was named as the Co-Chair for the Auckland Council Elections Working Group, Chair of the G(irls)20 Global Summit Committee and an Emerging Director for the Counties Manukau Rugby Union Board. Arizona is also currently completing her Masters in Human Rights at the Auckland University of Technology.

Leilani Hakiwai

Group Fitness Instructor

At just 16 years old, Leilani was selected for the Hawkes Bay Women’s Rugby Team and she also serves the Hastings community as a group fitness instructor, delivering exercise programmes in schools and at her local gym, Patu Heretaunga. 

 Leilani has demonstrated courage and resillience while moving through tragedy and overcoming challenges with dyslexia and mental health. She has continued to break through these barriers whilst maintaining her personal goals, including recently becoming a certified personal trainer. 

 Her story is truly inspirational! Leilani hopes to inspire other rangatahi especially wāhine to reach for their dreams. She aspires to own a health centre to support rangatahi and dreams of one day competing at the Olympic Games in the Women’s Rugby Seven’s team.

Chelsea Lane

High Performance Consultant

Chelsea Lane is a Performance Therapist with 20 years experience working with elite and professional athletes. Before leaving Aotearoa, Chelsea worked for High Performance Sport New Zealand as the lead sports physio for Athletics New Zealand. 

 In her most recent international appointment with the Atlanta Hawks, Chelsea had a dual executive and medical/performance role. She was responsible for overseeing the physical and mental wellbeing of her players, as well as the creation and implementation of high performance systems and cultures for the benefit of the team as a whole. During her tenure with the Hawks, the team climbed from the bottom of the table to worthy competitors in the Eastern Conference Finals in three short years. 

 Chelsea enjoyed the three previous years in the USA working as Director of Performance and Sports Medicine for the Golden State Warriors. Each year of this tenure, the team competed in the NBA finals, winning an astounding two NBA championships. She has recently returned to New Zealand, and we are thrilled to have someone of Chelsea’s calibre presenting at this year’s Women + Girls Summit.

Rachel Māia 

Para-Climber

Rachel Māia is a record setting Para climber for New Zealand and a mother of three. After breaking both feet while rock climbing at age 16, Rachel lived with chronic pain until making the decision to amputate her leg at the age of 36.

 Rachel’s story is about being bold and brave after two decades of fighting negative self-talk and self-worth. Weaving in experiences from her teen years, through to choosing an amputation and then soldiering on to be back at a World Championship where she placed fourth, less than five month after her amputation. 

 Rachel will inspire us to make the necessary adjustments to improve our self-talk and build resilience to stay the course.

Kura Moeahu

Kaiwhakarite Māori

Raelene Castle ONZM

CEO, Sport New Zealand

Raelene is the Chief Executive of Sport New Zealand. She joined the organisation in December 2020 after seven years working in Australia as Chief Executive of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and then Chief Executive of Rugby Australia. She was previously Chief Executive of Netball New Zealand from 2007 to 2013. 

Before beginning her career in sports administration, Raelene built a successful corporate career in communications, sales and marketing. This included general management and other senior roles at Telecom New Zealand (now Spark), Bank of New Zealand and Fuji Xerox.

Raelene has held several governance roles in sport, previously serving as a board director of the ANZ Championship Netball, International Federations of Netball Associations, SANZAAR Rugby and the World Rugby Council. 

She also has a rich sporting background as a former representative-level netball, tennis and lawn bowls player. Raelene was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2015 for services to Business and Sport.

Hon Grant Robertson

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Sport & Recreation

Hon Grant Robertson was born in Palmerston North and lived in Hastings before his family settled in Dunedin. Grant’s belief in social justice and a desire to see every New Zealander able to achieve their potential led him to politics, and he has been the Member of Parliament for Wellington Central since 2008. 

 He studied politics at Otago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in 1995. At university he was the President of the Otago University Students’ Association and became Co-President of the New Zealand University Students Association.

Rachel Froggatt

CEO, Women in Sport Aotearoa

Over the past 18 years, Rachel has worked in numerous commercial roles across Formula 1 and other motorsport, football, rugby, golf and athletics. She also has extensive charity experience, through work with the Red Cross and several cancer charities. Over the past six years, Rachel has worked in global advocacy roles, firstly in the disability sector, and for the past two years, women’s sport advocacy

Charissa Barham

Regional Sport Development Consultant, Sport New Zealand

Currently Regional Sport Development Consultant with Sport New Zealand and more recently National Youth Development Manager at Netball New Zealand alongside coaching Emerging Talent. A background in Secondary Health and Physical Education as well as the fitness industry and a passion for contributing to the development of young people through platforms.

Luciana Garcia

Women & Girls Lead, Sport New Zealand

Originally from Uruguay, Luciana has worked in the sport and active recreation sector for over 20 years across Uruguay, Spain and Aotearoa as a PE teacher, fitness instructor, professional coach (Synchronised Swimming) and a sports administrator. Through her involvement in Synchronised Swimming (as an athlete, a coach and an administrator), Luciana discovered and experienced the positive role sport can play in girls and women lives. She has also completed two master’s degrees, one in Athletes’ High Performance and Talent Development and one in Sports Management.

Facilitator:

Simone Spencer

Portfolio Manager, Aktive

Simone has worked in sports management for more than 10 years. Currently, as Portfolio Manager at Aktive, she is the strategic lead for the organisation’s work across the following areas: Women and Girls, Active Recreation, Coach Development and Good Sports®. 

Prior to this, she was the Sport Manager at Surf Life Saving Northern Region for six years. Simone has also been a business owner and was a Constable in the NZ Police for five years and, as a result, has operational, strategic and governance experience. Simone is still actively involved in Surf Life Saving and is a member of Mairangi Bay Surf Life Saving Club. Her involvement has included everything from coaching and officiating to team management, and she was appointed to the International Life Saving Federation (ILS) Sport Commission in March 2021. In July 2021 she was appointed as a Director for Canoe Racing New Zealand. 

 Simone is passionate about seeing young people have quality sport experiences and committed to seeing women and girls realise their potential through sport and active recreation. 

Panellists:

Brooke Neal

Olympian, Found of All About Balance

Brooke Neal is a former New Zealand hockey player, retiring from the game in 2020 after playing 176 games for the Black Sticks since her debut in 2014. She competed at the 2016 Olympic Games where her team placed fourth. She also won Gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, the first time in history this has been achieved. Brooke is also a mindset and wellbeing coach, launching All About Balance in 2016. Brooke’s mission is to inspire women in sport and business to put well-being at the centre of everything that they do, and as a result, be able to perform consistently at a high level. She runs workshops, online programmes and yoga sessions as a registered teacher.

Paula (Georgie) George

The Tania Dalton Foundation (The Resilience Project)

Georgie is the programmes manager for The Resilience Project in New Zealand. She is committed to sharing the tools and research for the essential practice of mental health so that our our tamariki and rangatahi can develop resilience, emotional literacy and ultimately live happier lives. She is a teacher, a coach and played rugby for England, earning a total of 75 caps, and 30 Tests in charge. 

Facilitator:

Roger Wood

Rangatahi Lead, Sport New Zealand

Roger Wood is the Rangatahi Lead for Sport New Zealand, responsible for advising Sport NZ and sector organisations about the provision of quality sport and active recreation experiences for this age group (12-18yrs). Roger has been part of Sport NZ and its predecessor, SPARC since 2002 and has a background in sports administration, having managed Badminton NZ, University Sport NZ and the NZ Students Arts Council in previous lives. 

He currently has specific responsibility for the secondary school sport area, youth insights and research, and the operation of the Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa fund, but has previously been responsible for teams leading in the areas of children and young people, funding and investment, evaluation, disabilities, Active Communities and the He Oranga Poutama programme.

Panellists:

Georgia Trent

New Zealand Netball Youth Board

Georgia is in her final year at the University of Otago studying Sports Development and Management alongside her role on the NNZ Youth Board and intern position on the NNZ Board. She also works with Dunedin Netball Centre to deliver the Fast 5 Youth Innovation Project.

Irene Van Dyk

Netball New Zealand

Irene tells us she is in the fortunate position to be employed by NNZ. She is passionate about netball especially in the Tamariki and Rangatahi space. Irene finds learning something new every day is priceless.

Nicole Dunn

New Zealand Cricket

Nicole Dunn is Head of Female Engagement at NZC, and as part of the Community Cricket team has a focus on increasing women and girls participation both on and off the field. With New Zealand hosting CWC22 in March and April 2022, cricket has an opportunity to capitalise on having world-class cricketers here in our own backyard to inspire a new generation of young kiwis.

Jess Davidson

Otago Cricket

Having recently graduated from the University of Otago with a Masters in Sports Development and Management, Jess is now employed by Otago Cricket as the Female Cricket Development Lead/Cricket Development Officer in Dunedin. Jess combines her passion of cricket with full time employment to motivate and enthuse others to become physically active. Her aim is to create innovative and exciting participation opportunities to ensure the sport is inclusive and appealing for people of all ages and abilities

Facilitator:

Trina Henare

Sport Northland

I tupu ake au I te tāone tino ataahua o Moerewa 
Kei Whangarei Ahau e noho ana
Ko ahau te kuini o te whanau a Sir James raua Ko Lady Rose Henare 

My Grandfather once said “ It is preposterous that any Māori should aspire to become a poor Pākehā, when their true destiny, prescribed by the creator, is to become a great Māori”. This statement is what drives me to support whānau in sport and in life. To help them achieve all the great things they inherently possess just by being maori. I’m an advocate for equity and equality for whanau who participate in Sport to breakdown the barriers and to find solutions that achieve tino rangatiratanga for our whanau involved in sport.

Panellists:

Taylah Johnson

Sky Sport, former BMX National Champ and Samoa Sevens representative

Taylah is a former three time National BMX Champion and has represented Northland, Counties Manukau and the Manusina in Rugby Union. She has a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting & Management, from the University of Auckland and sits on the Sport Waikato Board and the Tennis New Zealand Board. When she isn’t working as a consultant at KPMG, you will find her presenting and commentating rugby on Sky Sport NZ. Taylah is passionate about using her various corporate and community roles to promote equity for women in sport.

Ciccone Hakaraia-Turner

Netball New Zealand Youth Board

Ciccone Hakaraia-Turner is a year 13 student attending Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae and plans to study a Bachelor of Science degree at Medical School. She currently sits on the Netball New Zealand Youth Board and rangatahi advisory table for Sport NZ. She has a strong interest in community health and participates in Netball, Crossfit, Waka Ama and Olympic Weightlifting.

Raun Haerwa

Hawkes Bay Community Fitness Trust