Otago students are once again helping make school sport more accessible, visible, and affordable for rangatahi across Aotearoa New Zealand.
The University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, the New Zealand Sport Collective (NZSC) and Whakaata Māori are partnering to deliver large-scale live streaming and nationwide broadcast coverage of the Secondary Schools Summer Tournament Week — ensuring whānau and communities can follow the action from anywhere in the country, free of charge. Whakaata Māori will broadcast the streams on the MĀORI+ YouTube platform, showing te reo Māori through live commentary.
It follows a successful pilot partnership programme in 2025 during Winter Tournament Week, in which a keen group of students worked tirelessly in a central production hub provided by the University.
For Summer Tournament Week, which runs from 22 – 28 March, a new group of Otago students are working under the experienced guidance of an external producer as they process live footage of the tournament so that it can be rolled out instantly to about 250,000 supporters tuning in to watch on MĀORI+ YouTube, from across the motu.
At peak, up to 35 simultaneous live streams will be delivered across a wide range of sports including water polo, softball, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, and basketball.
The project is led by the NZSC, a collaboration of 35 national sporting organisations and event partners working together to grow funding, boost participation, and deliver social benefits.
NZSC CEO Rob Waddell says he is very proud of the work his organisation is doing alongside the University and Whakaata Māori.
"It's a simple but powerful way of delivering high-quality coverage of these games, making them accessible to whānau and friends who may not otherwise be able to attend due to time or cost.
"What we love most is that this coverage is completely free-to-air, ensuring every supporter, every whānau, regardless of circumstance, can access and celebrate these moments. Made possible through the support of the University of Otago and our wider platform partner Whakaata Māori, this approach is driving huge levels of engagement."
Leveraging its technical expertise, facilities, and integration of advanced broadcast technologies, the University has enabled a record number of simultaneous live streams from venues nationwide.
Otago University Head of Digital Strategy and Partnering Rasha Abu Safieh says these feeds are centrally managed, quality-controlled, and enhanced with features such as live commentary, advertising integration, and safeguarding protocols to ensure the appropriate protection of young athletes within a broadcast and sponsorship environment.
"The results for Winter Tournament Week were outstanding and we expect it to be even better this time."
Last year, broadcasts generated more than 600,000 views, including approximately 300,000 unique viewers — a clear indication of the strong national appetite for accessible school sport coverage, she says.
A key feature of last year's coverage was the successful integration of bilingual commentary, including te reo Māori, delivered by commentators from across the country.
This helped set a new benchmark for inclusive and culturally rich school sport broadcasting, and that approach will continue to grow in 2026, Ms Abu Safieh says.
Mr Waddell says another rewarding aspect of the programme is hearing positive feedback from whānau.
"The feedback continues to be incredibly special with families sharing links across the country so grandparents, parents and communities can stay connected to the action."
The Crossan whānau, from Waitati, just north of Dunedin, has enjoyed the ability to keep connected from afar; so much that they reached out to Ms Abu Safieh to express their thanks.
Nikki Crossan, whose daughter Macy competed in water polo matches in Christchurch this week, says having access to the broadcast livestream was "invaluable" for her and her whānau who couldn't travel to the matches in person.
"Rising costs of fuel and living make it tricky to get away for whānau, so watching at home is a real treat.
"Not only that, we're able to pass the link onto whānau, so my daughter's grandparents were able to watch and a sister at university - so awesome."
