Posted on Wednesday 28th August, 2019

Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) is delighted to welcome ANZ as a new Official Partner in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. ANZ is one of New Zealand’s leading financial institutions and the ANZ brand is associated with innovation and a commitment to supporting local communities. Through this new partnership ANZ will support our Paralympians, Para athletes and the New Zealand Paralympic Team as they aim to achieve their performance goals, and as a result positively influence community perceptions of disabled people.

Fiona Allan (Chief Executive, PNZ) says, “We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with ANZ and believe their support of Para sport and Para athletes in New Zealand will assist significantly. It is great to welcome ANZ to the Paralympic family and join a group of passionate and supportive PNZ partners. This partnership is an example of an increasing number of large brands seeing the incredible value of Para sport and its ability to promote and celebrate diversity and inclusion.“

ANZ Acting CEO Antonia Watson says ANZ is looking forward to supporting PNZ and the New Zealand Paralympic Team in their journey to Tokyo.

“We are proud to be supporting such an amazing group of athletes whose hard work, dedication and success continues to inspire us,“ Ms Watson says.

“Alongside our sponsorship of the New Zealand Paralympic Team, we are supporting up and coming athletes through the new ANZ Paralympic Pathway Programme. This programme will provide athletes financial support and education while they continue to develop in their sport and as individuals.“

“These next 12 months of training are going to be important for PNZ and their athletes and we’re looking forward to being involved and supporting them as they gear up for Tokyo and beyond.“

To further support this new partnership ANZ has welcomed Paralympians Jesse Reynolds and Holly Robinson as new ANZ Ambassadors.

ANZ joins a strong and committed family of PNZ partners that includes Major Partners Toyota New Zealand and HPSNZ; Official Partners Tower Insurance, Harvey Norman and Adecco New Zealand; Community Partners ACC and Sanford; Official Suppliers Simpson Grierson, Blue Star, Maersk, Oceanbridge, Executive Travel and Experience Group.

This latest partnership sits alongside ANZ’s existing sponsorships of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Teams.

-ENDS-

Notes:
About the New Zealand Paralympic Team
• The New Zealand Paralympic Team may include 30 – 45 exceptional Para athletes, competing in up to 10 Para sports at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
• PNZ are aiming to retain the Rio 2016 and London 2012 title of first in the world for medals per capita
• PNZ in partnership with HPSNZ has a joint medal target of 22 medals, including 10-14 gold medals.
About the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
• Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are held from 25 August – 6 September 2020 including 22 Para sports on the event schedule and approximately 4,400 Paralympians competing
• The Paralympic Games is the world’s largest multi-sport event for disabled athletes.
About Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ)
• Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) is the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for New Zealand. We are a charity and our overall vision is ‘Excellence & Equity through Sport’. As a member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), we are part of a worldwide social change movement, which uses the power of sport to positively influence community perceptions of disabled people and to promote a more diverse and inclusive society. To do this, we support and celebrate the achievements of Para athletes at international and national competitions all year round. Every two years, we lead New Zealand teams to the Paralympic Games. We also work in the local community to advocate for sport to become more accessible for disabled people and to support the creation of more systems and programmes to enable participation in Para sport.
• To support Paralympics New Zealand click here
• The Spirit of Gold® Initiative is an award-winning long-term campaign to increase awareness and raise much-needed funding to firstly, support the Para athletes on the road to PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and beyond. Secondly, to help PNZ invest in developing Para sport across New Zealand.

For more details please contact:
Melissa Dawson, Brand and Communications Manager
Paralympics New Zealand
Mobile – +64 (0) 204 0044 799
Landline – +64 (0) 9 526 0760