“It’s really important to take a step back and think about how you can best prepare yourself for the upcoming season,” Whitaker said.
“Smart things to focus on include increasing your fitness, refining your skills and improving your physical condition.
“We want everyone to get out and enjoy the sports they love, but we want them to be properly geared up so they reduce their chance of suffering an injury that puts them on the sideline.”
Last year, more than $1 million was spent getting football athletes healthy again in Whanganui, second to rugby union at $2.68m.
The Rangitīkei District recorded 16 new football-related claims last year and the Ruapehu District 26.
In Whanganui, there was also an increase in new netball-related claims in 2025.
After dropping from 235 in 2023 to 179 in 2024, the number rose to 220 last year.
The total cost was more than $600,000.
New rugby union claims were down two from 2024, with 600 in Whanganui.
In 2024, there were 100 more new claims than in the previous year.
Ruapehu had 136 new rugby-related claims last year, 27 more than in 2024.
Rangitīkei’s rugby-related claims decreased from 144 in 2024 to 119 in 2025.
Across the three districts, there have been 164 new claims for rugby union injuries in 2026.
Rugby union accounted for the largest share of winter sport injury claims in New Zealand, with 58,045 totalling $155m.
Whitaker said the most common injuries across all sports were strains and sprains, with knee, ankle and shoulder injuries the most prevalent.
“A dynamic warm-up should be done before every training and game, and the same with a cool down after the game and training to gradually bring your body back to a resting state, to help your body recover,” he said.
Across the five leading national winter sports in 2025 – rugby union, rugby league, football, basketball and netball – there were 5854 concussion-related injuries nationwide.
In 2024, ACC launched the National Concussion Guidelines for community sport.
Whitaker said building awareness of concussion leading into the season was important.
“I think the more that we call out concussion, the more it creates an environment where no one is going to be heckled for doing the right thing,” Whitaker said.
“That makes it easier for the players themselves to say that they think they have had a concussion. We need to continue changing the culture and provide a safe environment for reporting concussion.”
The Four Rs of Concussion Management
- Recognise (the signs and symptoms of concussion)
- Remove (the person from play)
- Refer (to a medical doctor to confirm diagnosis and provide treatment)
- Recover (at least 28 days of no symptoms before returning to training or sport)
Visit the ACC website for more injury prevention advice.
Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
