Home-schooled athletes denied medals to cycle 800km to Parliament seeking sports rule change

Amelia Twiss after completing the rebel ride, a self-supported, bike-packing adventure from Hamilton to Taupō, in 2024. Photo / Supplied

“Not asking for favours, just a fair go.” That is the premise of a petition created after home-schooled athletes were denied medals at a mountain biking competition.

Amelia Twiss, from Tauranga, and George Fisher, from Taupō, will carry the petition, cycling 800km off-road from the Grassroots Trust Velodrome in Cambridge to the steps of Parliament, taking an expected nine to 10 days.

The reason: they are seeking a change in the current School Sport New Zealand rules and regulations.

Amelia, 13, and George, 12, who are home-schooled, were ineligible for medals at the North Island Schools MTB Championships, which took place in Tauranga.

They were given certificates, but medals for their placings were given to children who placed after them.

School Sport NZ says its events are reserved for students enrolled fulltime in a registered school and undertaking a full school-based learning programme.

Home-schooled students can participate in School Sport NZ events, but rules state they are not eligible for medal placings in championship-level competitions.

Amelia told the Bay of Plenty Times the cycle to Parliament was her idea and she was motivated to do so because she didn’t want others to go through the same thing.

“I wanted people to know about it so that others didn’t get the shock that we did.”

She said it felt “really unfair”.

“We’re just asking for fair sport for all students in student sport.”

Amelia said she was excited about the journey to Parliament and had ideas of the tracks and trails she would take.

“In my head, I can see this long line going down a map to Wellington.

“We want to do something different to deliver the petition, and we really like riding our bikes, so we’re just going to ride them.”

Toni Twiss, Amelia’s mother, said the cycle to Parliament was “driven by the kids”.

“There’s no disadvantage to including homeschool students, keep the focus on kids, and making good social connections and learning life skills.”

Twiss said the petition was the only way to bring awareness and force public pressure to include home-schooled students in sports.

Amelia Twiss, 13, came up with the idea to cycle a petition down to Parliament seeking changes in School Sport NZ rules. Photo / Supplied

“Our voice does matter, we can make change, and we can seek inclusion, full inclusion.”

Amelia and George will start their cycle in the final week of June to deliver the petition on the steps of Parliament to a Youth MP on July 2.

The petition, Student Sports for All Students, which has more than 1700 signatures, was created by the Home Educators Sports Students Association (HESSA).

It calls for inclusive eligibility policies allowing all students, regardless of educational pathway, to compete - not just participate - in student sports.

HESSA has urged the Government to make funding for School Sports NZ conditional on allowing home-schooled domestic students to compete in student sports events.

Chair of HESSA, Mel Ewart, hoped the petition would achieve equitable access in student sport.

“These are New Zealand children, legally educated, yet they do not enjoy the same rights or opportunities in sport as their peers in mainstream schools when they reach secondary age.

“This disparity undermines the principles of fairness and inclusion in youth sport.”

Ewart said HESSA envisaged a change that ensured the setting for all domestic students supported equal rights to compete.

“This recognises that calling sport ‘school sport’ shouldn’t allow the exclusion of home-schooled students.

“One way to engage more students is to remove unreasonable barriers that exclude them.”

Bay of Plenty National MP Tom Rutherford met with Amelia and Toni Twiss to discuss their situation.

“The current rules that prevent home-schooled students from receiving medals despite their sporting achievements, in my view, are unfair and outdated.”

Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford with Amelia Twiss, centre, and mother Toni Twiss. Photo / Supplied

He said homeschool athletes deserved the same recognition as their peers in traditional schools.

“Young athletes like Amelia should be celebrated for their sporting accomplishments without discrimination based on how they receive their education.”

Rutherford wrote directly to the Minister for Sport and Recreation Mark Mitchell urging an address of the inequity in the School Sport New Zealand regulations.

Mitchell was approached for comment.

School Sport New Zealand (SSNZ) is the organisation that sets the regulations for school sports competitions.

SSNZ said in a statement its events were reserved for students enrolled fulltime in a registered school and undertaking a full school-based learning programme.

“SSNZ’s eligibility criteria were developed by the country’s schools for schools, and are not expected to change.

“We believe we have achieved the right balance of allowing students who are not part of the school network to take part in a range of sports and activities, without penalising those who are.”

Regional offices set eligibility criteria for events, but look to align with School Sport New Zealand on some policies.

In the Bay of Plenty, Sport Bay of Plenty sanctions student sports events in the region.

All Sport BOP-sanctioned events are guided by the eligibility bylaws of School Sport NZ, and this constitution is the basis of Sport BOP’s policies and guidelines.

Sport Bay of Plenty’s terms of involvement state that home-schooled students are not eligible for medal placings.

The parent/guardian of the student must sign off on a document accepting full responsibility for their student.

Sport Bay of Plenty told the Bay of Plenty Times there was a solution to be found that upheld inclusion and equitable opportunities for participants.

“There are ongoing conversations at a national level regarding these concerns.

“At a regional level, we will continue working with BOP stakeholders involved in organising secondary school sport to try to facilitate a timely and sustainable solution.”

Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.