Category: Well Wāhine

Tuesday marked International Womens Day and the final day of Well Wāhine Week.

Well Wāhine Week saw hundreds of women prioritising their wellness and trying new things in a time that has a lot of uncertainty. Small, safe events were able to go ahead when the community needed them most. The buzz was back in the air.

Kate Rhodes from Well Nutrition hosted a joint workshop with Amanda Roe from Functional Again. “It was great to see a good turnout of wāhine” Said Rhodes. “They were excited to celebrate their menstrual cycle and eager to build their knowledge about important women’s health conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis. You could tell wāhine left the sessions feeling empowered to protect and improve their own wellbeing.’

Over the 10 days, Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti in collaboration with over 30 providers, had close to 50 free, wāhine only events, plus a weeks’ worth of free Les Mills classes at the YMCA.

“To all the amazing wāhine in our community that took part, we hope that you took something away from Well Wāhine Week, whether it was a new friendship, activity that you’ll continue or a newfound appreciation for yourself.” Said Tracey Harkess of Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti.

Well Wāhine Week wrapped up with a closing ceremony where close to $2,000 worth of spot prizes were given away that were generously donated by local sponsors.

“We were thrilled to receive support from so many local businesses and organisations,” said Sarah Pocock, Active Communities Advisor at Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti. “The spot prizes added a real excitement to the closing ceremony. We were honoured to have support from Beaufoy, Blitz Surf Shop, Far East Coffee, Functional Again, Gisborne Boardriders Club, Kingpin, Palembang, AM Espresso, Sean & Fiona Shivnan, and the YMCA.”

While Well Wāhine Week coincides with International Womens Day, women want to connect with their wellness all year round. Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti will be keeping the momentum going all year round with events updated to their website.

Well Wāhine Week will kick off this year with a sunrise hikoi up Titirangi maunga on Saturday 26 February. 

For ten days, Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti and local providers will celebrate the women of Tairāwhiti, hosting a range of activities in which women and girls can take part. There are over 50 free events from 33 providers, including surfing, waka ama, group fitness classes and workshops around women’s health and wellbeing. 

Vesna Radonich, International Paddling Coach, delivered a Have-a-go Waka Ama at last year’s Well Wāhine Week. “Just watching the smiles on their faces,” she says, “the laughs of excitement and knowing the appreciation that they got to give Waka Ama a go was the highlight for me.” 

The kaupapa of Well Wāhine is to remove the barriers that women and girls may face when participating in sport, active recreation and play. The ten days is all about trying something new, getting out of your comfort zone, meeting new people and overcoming the prerequisite that you must be good at something to start. 

“Last year was such a success,” says Sarah Pocock, Active Communities Advisor. “It was inspiring to see all these strangers coming together with all the fear and pressure removed. The vibe was friendly and adventurous. I can’t wait to see what this year brings!” 

Vaccine Pass requirements are subject to the provider’s event. Some events will require them. For those that do not require Vaccine Passes, these events will be limited to under 25 participants. For those that do require Vaccine Passes, these events will be limited to under 100 participants. More information on which events require Vaccine Passes can be found on the Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti website. 

To view the full calendar of events, more information about Vaccine Passes and to register for an event, click here. 

So, check out the calendar, grab your whānau and try it, love it, be it! 

Tū mai wāhine mā! Whakanuia te wiki mō ngā wāhine o Te Tairāwhiti – Stand up wāhine mā. Celebrate the week of our women of Te Tairāwhiti.

Back for its second year, Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti are teaming up with local providers to celebrate International Women’s Day to bring 10 days of activities focused on wāhine health, movement and wellness.

“We can expect to see have-a-go sports, educational talks around women’s health, PCOS and endometriosis, and supporting your body and mind with nutritious kai and more” said Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti Active Communities Advisor Helayna Ruifrok.

“The buzz in the community that Well Wāhine Week brought last year was incredible. We saw a lot of wāhine being empowered by trying out new activities, getting active and meeting new people. We wanted to be able to provide that opportunity again in 2022.” said Ruifrok.

Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti has secured funding to support providers who are offering activities throughout the 10 days. “We know that cost is a significant barrier when it comes to getting wāhine to participate in new activities. So, to remove the barrier of cost and increase the quality of these events, we have funding to support providers. This means more wāhine can have the opportunity to try something new, and ultimately the opportunity to empower themselves.” said Tracey Harkess, of Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti..

For groups that want to offer an event during Well Wāhine, the application is closing Tuesday 1 February so make sure to get your event in to be a part of the Well Wāhine buzz this year.

To learn more about the kaupapa and what funding is available for providers, click here.

The full calendar of events will be released in February.

Well Wāhine at Te Kura Awhio​ ✨

Make sure you keep an eye out for the next have-a-go activity!

Wāhine came together on Sunday to eat, listen to local musicians Golden Rule, and clelebrate their experiences of Well Wāhine Week 2021. The closing event was a chance for women to connect with providers to learn more about their activities and to meet other women who participated in activities during the week. Honorable Mayor Rehette Stoltz, a guest speaker for the event, praised the variety of events on offer and the women and girls who prioritised their wellness by attending the week. 

The celebration concluded a week of 53 free events for women and girls, ranging from surfing, waka ama, workshops and much more. There were over 1000 participants across the various sessions.  These included wellness workshops for wāhine up the coast where there were three well attended workshops in Tokomaru Bay, Ruatoria and Wharekahika. 

“Feedback so far has told us that women were motivated to attend these events because they were free, but also because the sessions were safe, judgement free environments where they could turn up with or without a mate and try something new” said Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti Active Communities Advisor Helayna Ruifrok. 

Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti would like to thank the providers, sponsors and all the wāhine participants who made this week-long event a success in its first year. Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti Active Communities Advisor Sarah Pocock said “We hope that the wāhine who got involved learnt something new, gained newfound confidence, or made quality connections.” 

Local businesses sponsored prizes for wāhine who had participated in events during the week. The combined prize value was $3,000.  The sponsors were Kingpin, Muirs Books, Palembang, Sean & Fiona Shivnan, artist Steph Barnett, Far East Coffee, YMCA, Peel Street Café, Functional Again, Well Nutrition – Kate Rhodes, Inner Vibrance, Blooms on Balance, Village Homewares, Zephyr Wainui, Juve and Blitz.  

With the success of this year’s event, plans to run Well Wāhine Week next year is promising, provided there is continued support from the community.  “We have received a lot of positive feedback from wāhine about the week, and some great ideas for what we could do next year.  We have been approached by other providers who are interested in bringing new Well Wāhine events too” said Mrs Ruifrok.