Grassroots sports are essential to young Kiwis, not just for health benefits, but for their ability to unite communities and people from all walks of life.
Toyota NZ says it believes in the benefits of active children and bringing communities together, which is why both Toyota Store owners and the national company are driving strong communities through grassroots sporting opportunities for young people.
Toyota NZ has been involved in a wide range of grassroots sports, including rugby and sailing clubs, and has supported the construction of a multi-million-dollar sports and events centre.
Toyota NZ CEO Neeraj Lala says the company believes community “is about more than just living in the same place”.
“There are huge societal benefits from children becoming more active through involvement in grassroots sports,” Lala says. “It reduces pressure on the health system, the justice system, and the economic system, and it improves community infrastructure.
“It also improves the social fabric of communities, because it often involves families and people from all walks of life, increasing community connections and support networks, and creating a sense of belonging.”
Making a splash in every community
Toyota says its 60 nationwide stores have deep roots in local communities and have supported numerous grassroots sports organisations, especially those committed to young Kiwis.
Blenheim Toyota for example has been a long-time supporter of Queen Charlotte Yacht Club’s (QCYC) Learn To Sail programme in Picton, which has seen 300 primary and secondary school kids go out onto the water in the last year.
QCYC commodore Rob Burn says both the local dealership and the larger company’s connections run deep with the club.
“We’ve had a long association with Toyota, and Toyota itself has had a long association with the New Zealand International Optimist Dinghy Association and sponsoring their national championships,” he says.
Their work started in 2005, after Burn purchased a Toyota Land Cruiser from Blenheim Toyota.
“I got talking about sponsorships and I was just starting off a coaching programme to improve our membership, and really just to help it survive,” he explains.
“I pitched to them the idea of supporting us with a vehicle for our coach to drive around. They gave us a series of second-hand utes, then over the years they have given us new vehicles with sign writing and great graphics.”
Burn says the vehicles, driven by head coach Kate Overend, help QCYC’s young sailors travel to regattas across the country, tow boats around, and carry equipment and fuel.
“It’s a godsend to our club to have such a fabulous sponsorship, it gives us such a profile in the community that we’re a club that can get stuff done, and that people want to belong to.
“We have a nice, shiny vehicle with an enthusiastic person driving it. It just gives us that gravitas to parents, that they can trust us to get them around so they can learn to sail.”
Another sports club that has benefitted from Toyota NZ’s vehicles is the South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU), which says its mission is to expose youth to the benefits rugby brings – “social connection, physical health and a sense of achievement and belonging”.
“Sponsorship vehicles from South Canterbury Toyota are enabling the SCRFU to deliver regular programmes to local schools and clubs in the wider region,” SCRFU says. “This gives more children and young people the chance to learn and enjoy the sport and perhaps even go on to be that next All Black!”
Toyota NZ has also played a financial role in supporting community sports, such as North Otago Toyota’s support of the proposed Waitiaki Event Centre in Oamaru, which begins construction this month.
“Six courts, meeting rooms, offices, performance spaces and conference venues – the new Waitaki Event Centre will be an incredible legacy for the community,” the Waitaki Event Centre Trust says. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of previous North Otago Toyota CEO, Peter Robinson… [who] has been instrumental in raising the $35 million needed to complete the centre.”
Supporting next-generation athletics
Nationally, Toyota NZ has supported the Toyota Optimist Nationals since 2005, Surf Life Saving for more than ten years, and it has been a longtime supporter of the Weetbix Kiwi Kids TRYathlon.
Looking forward, Lala says Toyota will continue to play its part in making sport more accessible to young people,
“One thing that Kiwis value is healthy, active children,” he says. “Toyota is passionate about this because increased participation in grassroots sport is a ticket to healthier, more prosperous communities.”
In praise of Toyota, Burn says it has “always been a reliable brand that works hard in every circumstance” and drew comparisons between the toughness of their company vehicle and QCYC sailors.
“Our sailors learn to manage the rougher weather, they learn to be self-sufficient, how to help friends and take the bad conditions in stride. It’s a bit like the Toyota ute: it’s doing the tough stuff, it’s there every day and it never lets us down.”
This content was sponsored by Toyota New Zealand.