The Engine of The New New Zealand

Sport

Imagine every day, going into work and talking, living and breathing sport. Without the possibility of injuring yourself or having to train six or more hours a day!

Elite athletes don’t get to be the fittest, fastest or most agile people on our planet on their own. They work with experts in human performance, nutritionists, psychologists, coaches and all sorts of other health and sport professionals to help them reach, and maintain, peak physical fitness.

Every sporting event, from the globally-iconic events like the Olympics Games, to national, regional and local events, only happens because of people passionate about sport.

And then there’s the sportspeople themselves. Talented athletes need a career after sport too, so it’s important to them to work on their future. Massey offers dedicated, personal support to help you achieve your best, both on the field and off. Many of New Zealand’s elite athletes are studying at Massey.

Find out more about careers in sport.

Sport in New Zealand

The 1990s brought us many things. The Internet, Friends, bootleg pants, the Backstreet Boys and the professional era of many sports.

The dawn of professional sport created sports as commercial industries, characterised by extensive television coverage, commercial sponsorship and stars.

With these changes have come a greater need for people interested in sport, and who have good, strong management skills. People who can organise and manage all aspects of the day to day management of a sport and a sporting event.

It also requires people who are passionate about the technology and science behind sport performance, to help athletes, for whom sport is a career, perform at their best when it counts. The science behind sport and helping elite athletes perform to their best is a growing industry and sport scientists are becoming more and more important to elite sport each year.

What career will I have?

Exercise prescription and training is just one of the exciting areas that you could get involved in if you're interested in a career in sport.

There are many different options for careers in sport.

You could help run sports events, manage sporting programmes in organisations or communities, coach individuals and teams of all abilities, or help athletes optimise their performance.

Sport management

This gets you ready for great jobs in sport, leisure and event management, both at home and internationally.

The types of jobs include event management, facility management (looking after venues), sport development (for community, regional or national organisations), sports coordinator (for instance in secondary schools), sport marketing and sponsorship, sport development advisor, management, high performance sport management or coach education. Check out Kit McConnell’s story.

Exercise prescription

If you are more interested in the exercise prescription and performance aspects of sport, you could work as a sport scientist, a personal trainer, exercise and activity promoter, sports conditioner or trainer.

Physical education

If you are interested in education, options for careers include a school sports coordinator, a health and physical education teacher or a regional health and physical activity advisor.

Companies of all shapes and sizes do employ people with these skills, for instance medical centres, fitness centres, large companies or local councils, community-based organisations and schools.

Health and nutrition

Good health and nutrition is also vital for athletes to perform well, and Massey is an expert in teaching in this area. You can either specialise in nutrition, or overall health planning, or developing exercise programmes. When you graduate, you could work as a nutrition consultant in different areas of the community, from the elderly to children, or those with medical issues like obesity and diabetes.

Find out how to start your journey to a career in sport.

How can I do it too?

If you are interested in a career in sport, Massey has a number of study options.

So many in fact, that it might seem a bit overwhelming! But Massey’s programmes are really flexible – for instance our Bachelor of Sport and Exercise allows you to change your major after your first semester after you have a better sense of what you want to do.

If you are interested in a career in sport it’s a good idea to take subjects like literacy and numeracy, health, physical education, business studies mathematics, and biology at school. But make sure you check out specific qualification information below for specific requirements for programmes.

The Bachelor of Sport and Exercise at Massey is a three-year degree. It covers a huge range of disciplines including business, science and nutrition. You can specialise in management and coaching, physical education, or exercise prescription and training (learning how to train people – from elite athletes to ordinary people). This is a great qualification if you’d like to have a broad range of skills.

Health Science

The Bachelor of Health Science with a major in Sport and Exercise is a great qualification if you are interested in being able to put together exercise programmes for fitness, health or rehabilitation. You’ll learn how to improve the health of people with a range of conditions, from obesity and diabetes to serious cardiovascular disorders.

Sport Science

If you would like to focus on the science of the performance aspects of sport, with potential to move into athlete and fitness consultation, another option is the Bachelor of Science with a major in Exercise and Sport Science – it will give you in-depth knowledge of the physiology of exercise, biomechanics, and motor control.

Management

If you would like to focus directly on sport management, you can do a Bachelor of Business Studies with a Sport Management major.

You’ll benefit from Massey’s business expertise, and the close linkage into other discipline areas such as small business and entrepreneurship, management, public sector management, human resource management, communications and marketing. The programme also has strong links to the sporting community through research and training initiatives. You’ll take part in our highly regarded practicum, which will give you relevant event management experience, before you even graduate!

Coaching

If you are already working or have some coaching experience, but don’t yet have a qualification, Massey offers a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Sport Management). This will help you keep up with developments in your professional field and develop new skills for other employment.

Nutrition

Similarly the Bachelor of Science with a major in Nutrition would be a good option if you are interested in focusing on a career in helping sportspeople maximize their performance through nutrition. Many students do a BSc with a double major in Exercise and Sport Science and Human Nutrition.

Teaching

If you would like to teach sport you’ll need to do a Graduate Diploma in Teaching after completing your undergraduate degree.

Elite athletes

If you are an athlete, you can continue your sporting career while studying sports management, or other courses. Business Studies is a popular option. Massey is the home to many of New Zealand’s elite athletes, like world-champion rower Hamish Bond.

Postgraduate

Once you have completed your undergraduate degree, Massey offers a number of postgraduate options to increase your expertise, such as Postgraduate Diploma in Sport & Exercise and Masters in Sport & Exercise (CUAP pending)

In Management, you can complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Sport Management , or a Masters in Business Studies majoring in Sport Business Management. Postgraduate study will show your commitment to the industry and give you an in-depth insight into the intricacies of managing sport at the top level.

Find out why Massey is the best place to study sport, and how to take the next step. Or get in touch with us if you have any questions.

Why Massey?

At Massey, like you, we’re passionate about sport and exercise!

There are opportunities for practicums during your study – periods where you will work with a real organisation on a real event or activity, gaining valuable work experience and skills.

Massey University has a long history of excellence in studies in food and nutrition, while our Massey Academy of Sport attracts New Zealand’s top-performing athletes who also wish to study at a top university. Massey is renowned for its flexibility – really useful when you are an international athlete with training and event pressures.

Many of New Zealand’s Olympic athletes like Olympic rower Hamish Bond study at Massey.

Flexibility

Flexibility is the key reason that Hamish chose Massey. For him, it’s about not only being able to fit your study around your training, but sit exams in other parts of the world (usually in obscure Eastern European countries!).

Hamish says that this flexibility is vital, and makes studying more realistic and achievable.With around six  hours of training/warm up/prep a day, the commute to attend lectures is time Hamish just didn’t have.

He started off studying at Otago University, on-campus, but found that he ended up exhausted, falling asleep in lectures and struggling with the inflexible timetables..

When he had to move to Cambridge to be close to New Zealand’s rowing hub at Karipiro, he decided to go for distance learning, versus spending the time commuting to the local university, and he’s never looked back.

“It’s been a long road, but I’m really glad I stuck with it. Now I’ve got a qualification that will be useful to me, no matter what happens in my sporting career.”

Check out what other elite athletes like Jacob Oram, Rebecca Scown, Glenn Snyders and Kayla Sharland have to say about having a sporting career and studying at Massey.