The national projects scheme 1975 - 1980: applications and funding of selected women's, men's and mixed sports

Abstract

Recreation can provide valued opportunities for people to realise their personal potential although in New Zealand, one can observe that women are not equally represented in recreation activities. The National Projects Scheme (NPS) was one of the programmes developed by the Ministry of Recreation and Sport, and the New Zealand Council for Recreation and Sport, to implement a policy of increasing participation by women and men in recreation activities administered on a national basis. This study examines the applications from national sports organisations, and their subsequent funding from the National Projects Scheme between the years 1975 and 1980 to determine if there were any differences between the categories of women's, men's and mixed national sports organisations. Data for analyses were taken from original files of the Ministry of Recreation and Sport, and the New Zealand Council for Recreation and Sport. Analyses were approached through five objectives which were: to determine the per capita allocations; to determine the relationship between the amounts of the requests, and the amounts of the allocation; to determine the priorities for funding; to determine if the initial years, and the initial amounts of funding significantly influenced later amounts of funding. The findings of this study indicated that a number of differences did exist between the applications for and the funding of women's national sports organisations, and men's and mixed national sports organisations. Although women's national sports organisations had the same priorities for funding, they received less per capita allocation, they requested less total amounts, and fewer eligible organisations applied for financial assistance than organisations within the other two categories. The amounts of money men's and mixed national sports organisations received from the National Projects Scheme prior to, and in 1975, significantly influenced later higher levels of funding for those organisations.