Mike Summerell: School Sport NZ CEO on the growing popularity of basketball and the lack of facilities

Seasons are changing when it comes to secondary school sports. 

In just over a year’s time, basketball is set to become the most popular sport, with participation jumping 61% since 2000. 

However, there’s now concerns that New Zealand is 500 courts short to support the growing popularity.  

School Sport NZ CEO Mike Summerell told Mike Hosking that while schools have great facilities they can only cater for the smaller games, and national competitions are maxing the current facilities out. 

He says they also have to share the courts with other sports, and while they want the games to be played indoors, space is hard to come by. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Times that are changing on the sports fields of this country.
In just over a year's time, basketball is going to
take the top spot in high schools participations, up sixty
one percent in the last twenty five years. The number
so high that basketball in New Zealand a now reckons
were about five hundred courts short school sport in New Zealand.
Boss Mike summrules, Well, it's Mike Bey, good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Good morning, Hike.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Is it the US thing? Watch the NBA? Want to
be like you know whoever?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, look at I think it could be. I think
you know, you look at the youth today and the
access to those types of streaming opportunities, and you watch
the NBA and on why wouldn't you want to go there?

Speaker 1 (00:36):
It's also to be fair, it's communal. You can play
it seriously or for fun. It's pick up, it's organized,
it's men, it's women, it's everything. It's the complete sport
if you think about it, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
I agree? Yeah? I think Basketball are doing a great
job to make to get basketball accessible at their hoops
and schools programs. It's working really well and the numbers
are showing it.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
And it's cheap to participate and you need some shoes,
maybe a ball, and that's you done.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, it as pure as form absolutely, you know, just
just get hope. And they're doing really well. They're getting
hoops around the country. I think the costs to seem
to build as you get more formal with your participation.
But that's a problem for every sport.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
How does this get organized When schools or sports or
groups see something unfolding i e. A popularity, who triggers
the stuff that needs to happen to make it grow
even more, i e. Courts and facilities.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
I think that's a that's a big council conversation. Schools
have got great facilities and they can cater for the
smaller games, but when you look at the national competitions,
be it school sport or youth sport, they're getting bigger
and bigger, and the facilities that we have are absolutely
maxed out. And you add more sports on top, because

(01:51):
I mean basketball is having a great time right now
that volleyball are doing exactly the team are trying to
use the same court space, and these big conversations and
sport for our planners and well, I think we know
how important sport is in the lives of everybody, not
just you, and we want we want, we want these
games to be played indoors, that seems and it's hard

(02:12):
to come by.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
And good that we're out in exercise and given the
health servo we just did and half of us don't
even exercise, so we get out and do something productive
for ourselves. That's no bad things. Appreciate it. Mike Mike
summerl school Sport, New Zealand CEO. I was selected for
the first five basketball team at Lynwood High School at
in form three. It was unheard of at the time.
And further, did you have an early growth spurt or
something I knew that was coming. And further, I was, indeed, yes,

(02:36):
the smallest person on the team, but I was a
shooting guard from outside. I was I was three point Hosking.
They called me Stephan Hosking. That was actually before Stephan
was even heard of. That's how long we go or
three foot Highsking. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
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