NZ sponsorship focused locally aims to bring kids back to sport.
Like so many Kiwis, Angela Transom and her husband Mark grew up playing sports such as rugby, cricket, hockey and tennis. It’s a love she passed onto her four children, aged 17-10.
“Both Mark and I were raised playing sport at school,” says Angela of the couple who co-own Woodville’s Caltex service station – and who relish Caltex’s national focus on encouraging school sports, targeted in local communities up and down the country.
“Sport is character-building and has taught us skills such as being part of a team, communication, doing things for others and showing up – because if you don’t, you let your team down. It was important our children had the same experience.”
But Angela agrees that it isn’t a level playing field for all Kiwi kids – with figures showing some children are missing out on sporting opportunities because of the cost-of-living crisis. Reports indicate that, due to the cost of uniforms, equipment and travel to and from practices and games, more students are withdrawing from sports.
It comes on the back of a few hard years for kids’ sport, not only hard hit by Covid-19 but it has also felt the squeeze from increasing numbers of students choosing to walk away from physical activity. Research from Sport NZ showed that in 2021-22 there was a decline in the rate of meaningful involvement in some school sport programmes by up to 281 per cent.
Between 2018-2022 participation levels have decreased across 64 sports, increasing in only 14; participation in inter-school sports is down, while national census data collected by School Sport NZ indicated there has been a decline in rates of students with a meaningful involvement with a school sport programme from 56 per cent to 51 per cent.
Barriers to participation were particularly evident in low decile, high deprivation areas and geographically isolated communities, said Sport NZ, while logistical barriers such as a lack of transport options and financial constraints also presented significant challenges.
The trend had wider implications for mental and physical health now and into the future, because habits formed in the teenage years transferred to the adult years. Basically, inactive teens become inactive adults, concluded Sport NZ.
It’s a large part of the reason why Caltex, for the second year running, is sponsoring the Secondary School National Championships in partnership with the New Zealand Sports Collective (NZSC). The National Championship Secondary School events occur throughout the year and feature over 30 different sports, with 370 secondary schools, 187,000 students participating in at secondary school sports levels, and 50,00 students competing at national championship events.
Angela and Mark, who manage a Manawatu beef farm, are committed to ensuring their two sons and two daughters get to their basketball, rugby, tennis, netball and swimming practices and tournaments and say that they want the same for other children in their community.
It’s why they signed up their Woodville service station to help sponsor the Secondary Schools National Championships: “We donate $1,000 worth of Caltex StarCash cards to our local high school, Tararua College, to help run their three minivans and a car for students to get to and from events,” says Angela.
Being rural, the college’s 400 or so students have to cover a wide area in order to participate in sporting events.
“They drive to Masterton, Dannevirke and Palmerston North, so the gift cards really come in handy. If a coach has to take his or her own car to an event, that helps with gas. We’re helping the adults to help the kids.”
Angela understands that the StarCash cards are also used by Tararua College to ferry students in the Kapa Haka group to and from cultural events and festivals.
“It’s really important for us to support the local school and community. Getting kids out there giving sports a go is vital to helping them grow and be empowered. I’ve seen from my own and my kids experience, that this gives people a sense of belonging and success.”
Angela recently saw that in action at the NZ Secondary Schools Cross Country event, sponsored by Caltex: “To see teenagers out there pushing themselves to be the best they can be in their chosen sport, while at the same time cheering on and supporting others, is such a great thing to see and be a part of. As a parent, I know that getting kids off technology and moving can only be a good thing.”
With a background in sales, Angela spent a decade as a rep for a wine company. Eight years ago, she started a direct selling business from home, selling personal and home care items. But a year ago when a school friend, who owned the Caltex Woodville franchise, asked the Transoms if they wanted to buy into the business, they jumped at the chance.
“We didn’t have any service station experience but, with almost 20 years of sales experience, we thought why not? Having grown up in small town New Zealand, we know the value and the importance a business like this has in a small community.”
Ironically, the service station is the same one that Angela has a childhood connection to. “Every day Dad would drive home from work and pop in here to buy a bar of chocolate. Now I’m a part owner and running the shop.”
Her involvement with the local community extends further than sport. Angela also employs two local students at Caltex Woodville for after school and weekend shifts: “We have taught them barista skills, working with gas bottles and with customers service skills instore, they are very much a part of our team.
For more information on how Caltex and its network of local Retailers are supporting schools across New Zealand: caltex.co.nz/fuellingsports