Wahine Toa Special Projects 2026
From Insight to Action: Strengthening Safety in High-Performance Sport
From Insight to Action: Strengthening Safety in High-Performance Sport
Authors: Portia Bing and Nikki Hamblin
The adoption of the Sports Integrity Code represents a critical opportunity to strengthen safe, fair, and accountable high‑performance sport environments in Aotearoa New Zealand. Athlete Commissions play a pivotal role in this process, providing an independent athlete voice and helping to ensure that integrity systems are not only compliant, but practical, trusted, and effective for those they are designed to protect. This guide has been developed to support Athlete Commissions to engage confidently and constructively in the adoption of the Sports Integrity Code by their National Sporting Organisations (NSOs).
The guide is designed as a practical, accessible advocacy resource that helps Athlete Commissions understand where and how they can influence the adoption process. It focuses on ensuring athlete voices are meaningfully embedded from the outset, rather than consulted late or symbolically. In doing so, it positions safeguarding not as a constraint on performance, but as a foundation for sustainable, high‑quality sport environments.
The content has been informed by global research, domestic integrity cases, publicly available policy guidance, public sector best practice frameworks, and direct athlete feedback. It aligns closely with the Sport Integrity Commission’s Guidance on Adopting the Code of Integrity for Sport and Recreation, using the same staged adoption model to ensure consistency, clarity, and accuracy. At each stage of adoption, the guide outlines what is happening, clarifies the specific role of Athlete Commissions, and provides key questions and practical actions to support effective engagement.
The guide emphasises that adoption is not a one‑off decision, but an ongoing process requiring clear planning, transparent communication, effective implementation, and continuous review. It supports Athlete Commissions to move from awareness to influence, helping to ensure that integrity systems reflect real athlete experiences and build trust over time.
By equipping Athlete Commissions with clear guidance and practical tools, this resource supports safer sporting environments, stronger accountability, and more meaningful athlete representation in integrity governance. It offers NSOs and the sport system an opportunity to embed athlete‑centred integrity practices that endure well beyond initial adoption.