AUT School of Sport and Rec

Bad week to be a gazebo. Very good week to learn what it takes to deliver a rugby league tournament 😂🏉

Second-year students Ivan Harris, Daniel Du Plessis & Kurtis Gavin, spent the week behind the scenes with New Zealand Rugby League at the U15 Boys National Tournament.

They worked across field and equipment set-up, interchanges and match management, while adapting to changing weather, shifting timings and everything else live sport threw at them.

As Ivan put it:

“In footy, we’re always told to stick to the game plan. But we’re also told to play eyes-up footy and play what’s in front of us…Turns out, event operations aren’t too different… While our game plan gave us structure, we still had to keep our eyes up, adapt on the fly and get stuck into whatever needed doing.”

For Daniel, who has long wanted to find mahi within New Zealand rugby league, the placement offered a new appreciation for the work behind the game:

“Learnt a lot about what goes on behind the scenes of grassroots footy and the amount of preparation/attention to detail that goes into making these events run as smoothly as they do.”

Also on the ground was third-year student Ben Hainsworth-Fa’aofo, who is currently completing his co-op with NZRL - a pretty cool glimpse of where that next stage of the degree can lead.

A huge thank you to Holly Nahu, Patrick Carthy, Ben and the wider NZRL whānau for bringing our students into the team and giving them the opportunity to properly get stuck in 🖤🤍

A great morning hosting students from University of Oregon at AUT as part of their three-week study tour, led by Damian Radcliffe 🇺🇸🇳🇿

Dr Sarah Wymer gave them a little insight into the New Zealand professional sport landscape, talked plenty of One NZ Warriors , showed a few of her favourite examples of what they’re doing across marketing and content and, naturally, managed a shameless plug for the No Surrender finals campaign (surely this is the year🤞)

But the best part of the afternoon was having some of our Sport Leadership and Management students join us.

Rather than another session where we simply present at visiting students, we opened it up into a two-way Q&A. Oregon students asking our students about studying sport in New Zealand, AUT students asking about university and sport in the US, and plenty of conversation about the differences - and similarities - between the two.

By the time we wrapped up, students from both universities were still standing around talking - which was great to see!

Thanks to the University of Oregon for spending part of your time in Aotearoa with us - an absolute pleasure to host you at AUT!

Meet Darcy Howell 👋

Darcy is studying Sport and Exercise at AUT while also playing professional rugby for Northland Rugby and this year, he was part of the side that brought the Ranfurly Shield back to Te Tai Tokerau 🏆

“Winning the Ranfurly Shield was one of the most special experiences I’ve had in rugby so far. Being able to do it with your home province, with a group of players, coaches and management that had put so much into the jersey, was unbeatable.”

For Darcy, it wasn’t only the win that made it special. His parents travelled to Christchurch for the game, and when the team returned north they were welcomed home by a packed airport before taking the Shield around Te Tai Tokerau.

“Supporters filled everywhere we went.”

At the same time, Darcy has been working through his Sport and Exercise degree at AUT through NorthTec - Tai Tokerau Wānanga

A typical week includes five days of rugby training, with gym, field sessions, recovery and games. His days away from rugby are often spent completing placement hours and catching up on study - which has meant learning pretty quickly how to manage both.

“You can’t always wait till you feel motivated to get university work done, especially when most of your week is rugby.”

Darcy hopes to keep playing rugby and see where it takes him, while his studies have also sparked an interest in strength and conditioning and sport science.

His advice for other students trying to combine study with high-level sport?

“Stay organised and don’t leave things until the last minute 👀 There will be weeks where rugby takes up more of your time than usual, so getting ahead with your university work when you can makes a huge difference…also remember why you’re doing both. It can be challenging at times, but being able to study while competing at a high level is a great opportunity.”

Ka mau te wehi, Darcy 💙

If you had told Akanisi Ledua as an AUT student that she would one day be Head of Community at an NRL club, her response would have been:

“Not evennn.” 😂

Physiotherapy was the original plan, but when that pathway did not work out, Akanisi enrolled in AUT Bachelor of Sport and Recreation. What initially felt like the alternative soon introduced her to the breadth of careers available across sport and helped her discover where her own strengths might fit.

Akanisi found her first professional home in education as an HPE teacher. She loved teaching and working with young people, but after moving to Sydney in 2024, she was ready for a break and open to something different.

The opportunity that followed did not come through a carefully mapped career plan.

After joining a local rugby union club, Akanisi made what she describes as a bold move: she asked someone there whether they knew anyone she could speak to about work. That person had previously worked in HR at Wests Tigers and told her about the club’s developing community programmes.

Akanisi’s experience in education, connection with young people and genuine heart for community created the alignment.

She joined Wests Tigers as Community Program and Curriculum Coordinator. Today, she is Head of Community, leading a team that uses sport to bring people together, strengthen communities and create lasting impact.

Her move across the Tasman has also inspired her to begin building her own ventures supporting iTaukei young people and Fijian communities in sport.

Her advice for students still figuring out where they belong within the sport industry?

“If you love sport, there is definitely a role for you out there. But stay true to your values and what you’re passionate about. Like my dad told me, ‘You want to wake up to a job you’re keen to get out of bed for.’”

Vinaka for sharing your story with us, Akanisi 💖

When you graduate, a little piece of our School goes with you and a little piece of you stays with us 💙

Watching our students grow, achieve and step confidently into their next chapter is one of the greatest privileges of what we do. We couldn’t be prouder of our graduates and all they have accomplished.

Once part of the School of Sport, Exercise and Health, always part of our whānau 🤙🎓

📸 Fraser Ward

A huge mihi to our HPE major students who volunteered their time today at the CLM Try Games Day at Bruce Pulman Park🙌

More than 200 students from special schools across Auckland came along for a day of movement, games and plenty of fun. It was an awesome opportunity for our students to get hands-on experience, work alongside young people, and connect with organisations across the sector.

A massive thank you to our student volunteers:

⭐ Giarna Treadwell
⭐ Kyla Middleton
⭐ Rebecca Semik
⭐ Moses Solomon
⭐ Brooke Morgan
⭐ Aarush Chand

Huge thanks to Tracey-Lee Dalton for organising such an epic event and creating the opportunity for our students to be involved, and to Amy Kaukau for bringing together our AUT student crew.

There are plenty more volunteering opportunities coming up, so if you missed out on this one, keep an eye out for the next! 👀

For most of her life, Zoe Crawford has experienced high-performance sport as an athlete. Now, through her AUT degree and placement, she is discovering what it takes to support athletes behind the scenes.

Zoe is studying a Bachelor of Sport, Exercise & Health, majoring in Management, while competing internationally as a member of the New Zealand Black Fins.

Her surf lifesaving journey began at four years old in Gisborne. After moving to Auckland, she joined Mairangi Bay Surf Life Saving Club, before beginning to pursue pool rescue seriously in 2022.

The results soon followed: four gold medals at the 2024 Surf Life Saving World Championships and gold in the 100 m Manikin Tow at the 2025 World Games. Zoe has also broken the world record in the 100 m Manikin Tow and helped Mairangi Bay set a world record in the 4 × 50 m Lifesaver Relay. 🥇

Alongside training, competing and studying, Zoe completed her Co-op placement with Surf Life Saving New Zealand High Performance programme.

She helped deliver athlete development camps, supported coaches and athletes, coordinated logistics and developed a centralised process for reporting and resolving issues during junior camps.

At the Performance Pathway Camp on the Gold Coast and in Bundaberg, Zoe experienced a high-performance environment from a new perspective - as a manager rather than an athlete.

“Working as a manager instead of an athlete reinforced the importance of clear communication, adaptability and being proactive when solving problems.”

Next, Zoe will represent the Black Fins at the World Championships in South Africa this December, where the team will pursue New Zealand’s first overall victory since 2018. She also hopes to defend her individual titles.

Beyond competition, Zoe is building towards a career in sport management - bringing with her an understanding of high-performance sport from both sides 👏🏼

We are so proud of you Zoe 🥹❤️‍🔥

What does a day in the life of a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science look like? 👀

From an early-morning gym session to teaching, meetings, professional development and postgraduate supervision, spend the day with Dr Alyssa-Joy Spence.

Swipe across to follow her day 👉

As part of our Not Just the Intern series, meet Ami Duff, a third-year AUT Sport, Exercise and Health student completing her placement with FAM FunctionalAdaptiveMovement

Every day, Ami travels by bus from Gulf Harbour to THE PHYSIO CO. here she supports strength and conditioning sessions for people with neurological and physical conditions.

It is a long commute, but for Ami, the opportunity to contribute to this community makes it worthwhile.

During her placement, Ami assists with transfers and safety, offers movement cues and, as her confidence has grown, has begun leading parts of sessions herself.

But her biggest learning has gone far beyond exercise.

Ami has seen how trust, communication and genuine relationships can help remove the barriers people with disabilities encounter every day. That became especially clear while volunteering at the Halbergfoundation Games, where she coached young people with disabilities from across Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Their capability was obvious. People aren’t limited by their impairment, but by environments that fail to adapt and support them.”

The experience has helped Ami recognise the kind of practitioner she wants to become: someone who coaches with intention, challenges assumptions and creates spaces where people of all abilities can participate meaningfully.

“I’m not just the intern - I’m a growing professional dedicated to coaching and practising with intention, inclusion and deep respect for people of all abilities.”