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Post Trip

It was a very tough goodbye. This was the coolest trip that I have ever been on and can't thank Dr. Beissel, Grainger, and Morris enough! I got learn and experience things that I thought would never take place. I got to meet a number of amazing people that made this trip both possible and amazing. After seeing a lot of the sights and meeting locals, I know why people speak so highly of New Zealand.

It was really cool to see the international differences in sport but also the marketing and work that goes on behind the scenes. I guess I never really thought marketing to 4.5 million people would be all that hard, but I was incredibly wrong. Traveling to all these cities both major and minor really opened up my eyes to how unique the world really is. This was my first study abroad experience and would change anything at all. 

I would like to thank all the people who made this trip possible and mostly my parents. They provided me with an experience of a lifetime that I certainly will never forget. It is a fact, that I will be back New Zealand! 

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Free Day - Wellington

On our last day in New Zealand a group of students and I decided to explore some of the historical coastline. We found our way to the Red Rocks Reserve after hearing some opinions from locals. We explored the rugged south coast of Wellington by walking from Owhiro Bay to the Red Rocks (Pari-whero). This is an area of national significance with fascinating geology and Maori history. After walking up the coast, seeing the locals spear fish, and enjoying the views we got to read a little more about the history. Maori folklore tells two stories relating to the colour of the rocks. In one, Kupe - the famous Polynesian explorer - was gathering shellfish here when one clamped his hand. He bled and stained the rocks red. In the other story, the red is the blood of Kupe's daughters. Fearing for their father's safety on a long voyage, they gashed themselves in grief over his absence. Both very interesting and made me think about how beautiful and majestic all the scenery is in New Zealand. It was really cool to spend the last day kind of just hiking around and admiring all New Zealand has to offer. Know I know why people move there and never want to come back. 

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New Zealand Rugby Union

This was maybe our last event as a class and absolutely my favorite part. The NZRU is by far the most influential and professional organization we got to experience. We got to speak with one of the main lawyers with the All Blacks while he gave us a tour of their corporate office. It was two whole floors full of employees, memorabilia, and players lounge. It was cool to go behind the scenes on the most prominent sport in New Zealand. One thing that really caught my attention was their stance on concussion and CTE within rugby. Our guide stated that they have been working hard with the NFL over the past couple of years. They are doing this to see the similarities and differences of concussions within rugby and football. With a sever amount of less cases in rugby, I feel that the NFL could learn some valuable traits from the rugby industry. Even though there are a lot less cases when dealing with rugby they made sure that they are not taking the situation lightly because it is not a joking matter. 

I felt I got the most information out of this meeting because of how put together the organization is. In comparison, I feel it would be similar to taking a trip to the NFL HQ. The legacy the All Blacks have created in New Zealand is incredible and to be able to market effectively to only 4.5 millions people if very impressive. They also made it known that they want the popularity to spread to the US. But in his words, “we would be waking a sleeping beast”. Yes, they want the popularity of the sport to grow but with the facilities, resources, and number of people its not hidden that US could take this sport and run with it. I am very curious to watch and see how rugby grows in the US over the next decade.  

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Westpac Stadium

After getting a tour of Westpac stadium it reminded me a lot of the stadiums in the United States. Its main goal was to bring a multi-purpose stadium to Wellington, New Zealand. It was built to replace Athletic Park, which was no longer considered adequate for international events due to its location and state of disrepair. The stadium was also built to provide a larger-capacity venue for One Day International cricket matches, due to the Basin Reserve ground losing such matches to larger venues in other parts of the country. Like many stadiums in the US, it was built to be an international entertainment venue. Bringing in top performers from a number of different bands since the date it was opened. In some of the pictures you can see some of the performers including Neil Dimond, ACDC, and Mick Jagger. 

The local sporting teams take a lot of pride when playing in this stadium, even the All Blacks. Our guide made it known that there isn’t a bad seat in the stadium as compared to some of the US venues you may find yourself behind a pole or blinded of certain views. One thing that I found interesting was the grade in the field. In the middle of the field is the highest point making it easy to drain from all the rain Wellington experiences. This makes cricket matches more enjoyable for the players not having to deal with drastic puddles like other stadiums. But, when asked if made a difference with rugby or soccer, said there was little to no difference. 

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Sport New Zealand

We got to meet with a couple of representatives from Sport New Zealand. Here we got to talk and learn about the main priorities of sport within the New Zealand community. We were informed that they broke down their plan into 5 major sectors: young New Zealanders, grassroot sports, recreation, partner capability, and high performance. Within this model they purposed to us that a few major problems follow. Such as social an technological changes, sustainability and capabilities - its hard to market to only 4.5 millions citizens. Along with having high performance athletes, there are very few. The only athlete that can effectively market to the country as a whole is Steven Adams. In a losing situation he took his talents to the US to participate in college basketball and later the NBA and has been for several years. Its hard to base a strategy around Adams because he is only from New Zealand, he went to the US because it was the best opportunity to make the best of his abilities. So this then makes other New Zealand native athletes want to go to the US to help further their abilities because the resources, facilities, coaching are just so much better.  

I thought this talk was very interesting because they cannot use their high performance athletes like we do in the US. They made it known that their athletes are social media challenged, meaning that they don't perform well on social media. Whereas in the US that is a dominating factor that separates our marketing from others. 

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ASB Sports Centre - Wellington

We got to go to one of the most prominent recreations facilities in New Zealand.  ASB Sports Centre aims to improve the health and wellbeing of the community by increased physical activity through participation in sport and recreation. Demand and the growing popularity of netball, basketball and volleyball highlighted the city’s need for more indoor sports capacity. The sports centre courts provides the public with quality playing and training facilities for a variety of indoor sports. This 12 sprung-floor courts available to the public, suitable for most indoor sports and recreation activities, ASB Sports Centre cost around $47.5 million to build. Their main sports include: basketball, handball, netball, volleyball, floor hockey, indoor rugby, lifestyle classes, and many more. Our study abroad group got to go head to head in netball and floor hockey. I personally wasn't that big of a fan of netball because they limit your ability to play defense. Although, not very big in the United States, the leaders said that netball is the fastest growing sport within the women community at any age. 

I saw a lot of similarities with this Rec center to others across the United States. Their equipment and facilities were top of the line and reminded me a lot of the gym I use at school. With their goal to promote healthy living within the community, Id say they're doing just that. I really appreciate the staff and employees teaching us how to play netball and floor hockey. With the competitive group we had, it was incredibly fun!

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Queenstown, New Zealand

This was by far the coolest city of the trip so far. This was our break from lectures and chance to experience New Zealand on our own. I participated in a number of activities including: canyoning, bungy jumping, cliff jumping, river boarding, and relaxing on the beach of lake Wakatipu. Lake Wakatipu is one of the coolest lakes I have ever been to. The crystal clear blue water reminded me a lot of the lake I spend time on in Northern Michigan, called Torch Lake. New Zealand is the action sport capital of the world, and after this weekend I can certainly see why. One thing that I noticed was that a lot of the guides we had were kids taking a gap year or break from the business world and having a time showing tourist how to safely partake in these activities. This makes it very tempting to do something similar myself and come right back to Queenstown. 

I would have to say that my favorite events were canyoning and bungy jumping. Canyoning is a very unique activity that includes exploring canyons and crystal clear pools using a variety of techniques - natural water slides, zip lines, pool jumps, rappelling, and swimming. Bungy jumping on the Jawarau Bridge was a thrill of a lifetime. This is the ‘World Home of Bungy’ – where it all began, with an impressive 100% succession rate. Considered to be the safest bungy jump in the world. All in all, I will be back to Queenstown sooner rather than later. 

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Surfing St Clair, Dunedin

After we enjoyed our fish and chips on St. Clair beach we got to get in the water an surf for my first time. Since we were surrounded by locals, after watching them, I thought it was going to be a breeze. I didn’t know what to expect but to compare it to snowboarding. Its a night and day difference, I was struggling. The waves were about a meter to two meters high, a lot more than I was expecting. St Clair was the site of an early surf lifesaving club; South Coast Boardriders, established in 1966 and one of New Zealand's strongest surf clubs, is also based at the beach. Probably named after the Chapel of St Clair on the bank of the River Esk outside Edinburgh, Scotland. After a couple of runs I finally got to stand up and ride the wave out, which was awesome. After experiencing surfing my self, it made me really think about how New Zealand is the action sport capital of the world. I thought it would be so cool to watch a surfing competition, and watch the pros compete head to head. 

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Tunnel Beach - Dunedin

I though Waiheke island, Onetangi beach was the coolest beach that I have ever been to but I was wrong. I have noticed a common theme within this trip and that is that it just keeps getting better and better. Tunnel beach is about 15 minutes outside the heart of Dunedin, after a little bit of a hike it was absolutely worth it. Tunnel Beach has sea-carved sandstone cliffs, rock arches and caves. Beyond the beauty of the rugged sandstone cliffs, its main attraction is the tunnel down to the beach that a local politician, John Cargill, son of Captain William Cargill, had commissioned for his family in the 1870s. In the 2013 census, there were approximately 600,000 people in New Zealand identifying as Māori, making up roughly 15% of the national population. In other words they are referred to as, “the people of the land”. Our first lecture, she kept on harping on the fact that if you want to enjoy the land, you have to give back. To me this means looking after their natural beauties. Picking up after yourself, and preserving some of the most beautiful spots in the world. 

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Cricket - Uni Otago

Today we learned how to play cricket, and got to play ourselves. I am a huge fan after actually learning the rules. There are a lot of similarities to american baseball but I think requires a lot more skill. The object of the game is to score as many runs as possible, this could take 6 hours, a day, or even 3 days. In my mind you have to be extremely tough to participate in any level of cricket. When we were playing we used what is referred too as a training ball. The training ball is a lot softer than a usual cricket ball. I was hit two times by another classmate while I was batting and hurt extremely bad. I made a comeback, and hit the ball past the fence for 6 points. It was a lot of fun an got extremely competitive within our group. Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the New Zealand sport culture. Although were American, everyone has been extremely nice and very welcoming. Some of my favorite experiences have been talking about sports with different locals, and comparing ours to theirs. 

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All Blacks Rugby - Eden Park

Going to Eden Park was a great experience. We got a tour of the stadium where the notorious All Blacks Rugby team plays, and also got to speak with Ant Swaohaw. Ant, is the high performance manager of Auckland Rugby Academy and head of international academy Auckland rugby union. This was a very interesting because in my mind Rugby in a way is pretty similar to american football (in some ways). But I was completely wrong, the rules and style of play are completely different. Some things that are similar are the developmental programs and other feeder teams. There are 7 different levels to the All Blacks organization, these include: U5-U13, U14, U16, U20, Club/Semi pro, Super Rugby, and the All Blacks. One thing that I thought was very interesting was the younger leagues. It is usually based off where you live, thats where you play. But as you get older you can see a similarity to the US. These players will then begin to travel at the high school level and find the right club for themselves. At this level they being to break up into A, B, and C teams. Scouts pay plenty of attention to all the levels even the youngest group. But really start to focus on the high school, club, and super rugby more in depth. I thought this was similar to high school and college football, with the scouts looking for the best talent for their program. 

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Waiheke Island

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Waikato Uni - Parkour

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New Zealand Breakers

We got to travel to the Breakers corporate office and practice facility. Initially, I thought the facility was going to be a lot bigger but I was very wrong. It was interesting to see the resources these players and coaches have compared to some teams in the US. The lack of very nice facilities shows that basketball isn’t that big here, but has potential. I would say that some of the high schools and colleges in the states have better facilities and resources including gym, locker room, rehabilitation, and equipment. 

We got to speak with the marketing directors and the head coach for a long time. Overall, it is clear that New Zealand’s top sports include: cricket and rugby, so its not an easy task marketing to the 4.5 million people living in New Zealand. They did make it clear that basketball was on the rise and has become drastically more competitive and popular in the country. The Breakers have a youth organization league that pushes younger kids to get involved in basketball. This starts at a very young age and goes all the way through high school, then were the players will having hopes to play in the states or for the Breakers. Some of the marketing techniques are very different here because the athletes aren’t ‘social media trained’. This makes it harder for the coordinators to spread the word of the Breakers effectively. 

On Sunday, we got to go to a Breakers basketball game at Spark Arena in downtown Auckland. The stadium seats about 7,000 fans and was rocking! It was close to a sold out crowd and we got to see the Breakers bring home a win. The interactions at the game and different promotions were very similar to what we would see in the US during a basketball game at the college or even professional level. We got to watch four of the members of our trip participate in a half time show with giant inflatable balls, trying to knock each other over.

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America’s Cup Experience

Wednesday January 3rd, we got to have an experience of a life time in Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour. Sailing is undoubtably one of the top sports in New Zealand. Coming from the action sport capital of the world, it was incredible to sail on one of the America Cup boats. The Cup is a race for the "Auld Mug", this is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match race between two sailing yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger. It was really cool to race the other boat, and the crew had us doing almost all of the work.

I am a huge fan of sailing so this was an incredible experience for me. Learning about the race, and how these boats operate was very interesting. All were welcome on the boat even if you didn’t have any experience. This is something that I would refer to anyone seeking to experience one of New Zealand’s passions. 

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Day 1 in Auckland - I was blown away at the fact that we are all the way across the world and New Zealand has so many similarities to the United States. We got to travel to one of the main spots of Auckland, Sky Tower. This is the tallest building in New Zealand, even though it was a little cloudy, the view was amazing. After walking around the streets I could tell this is a very diverse population. Meeting people from Wales, Ireland, China, and New Zealand. All were very friendly and welcomed us with open arms, curious as to what we were studying.  I could tell right away this is going to be the best trip of my life 

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Pre Departure

In the weeks leading up to New Zealand I really enjoyed the readings. Even though they were very long, they were interesting and kept me coming back for more. This helped me become more familiar with what we are going to be learning over seas. In prep to head out, I really didn't know what to expect when getting over there. I don't know if I will be completely lost in the culture, not knowing the everyday traditions. I think that I will be able to fit in, as I am a pretty easy going individual who loves to explore different things. I think the thing that I am most excited about is the sailing with America’s Cup team of New Zealand. I have grown up sailing my whole life and it will be really cool to see it on a completely different and the biggest possible stage. I know this will just be one of many great experiences and I am excited to branch out of my comfort zone. All in all, Im beyond ready to get to New Zealand and have the best month of my life.