The New Zealand team for this year's Commonwealth Games was finalised on Wednesday with 233 athletes from varying sports, cultures and other backgrounds all coming together to wear the silver fern in Birmingham.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee confirmed the final squad for this year's Games on Wednesday with Aotearoa set to take part in 19 sports and two para-sports later this month.
"It's go time for us now and our team can't wait to get to Birmingham and get stuck into competing," chef de mission Nigel Avery said.
“We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to create an environment which allows our athletes to perform to the best of their abilities in Birmingham.
"We saw some inspiring results from the New Zealand Team at the last Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and we’re looking forward to creating further history in Birmingham."
The 233 selections breaks down into 125 women and 108 men, making the 54% female representation the highest in a New Zealand campaign for the Commonwealth Games or Olympics in history.
The team is also made up of various cultures with athletes coming from Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands, Fijian, Filipino, Chinese, Australian, European and African backgrounds. Māori athletes make up 20% of the team with 46 athletes.
There will also be strong representation across multiple generations with New Zealand's youngest athlete in Birmingham being 16-year-old diver and year 12 Takapuna Grammar student Maggie Squire while the oldest is 75-year-old para lawn bowler Sue Curran. Curran will become New Zealand's oldest ever Commonwealth Games athlete when she steps out on the greens at Leamington Spa.
"It’s fantastic to still be able to wear the fern, even though I might be slightly older than some of my teammates," Curran said.
Region-wise, Auckland has produced the most athletes this year with 57 competitors coming from the City of Sails. Canterbury is second with 32 athletes while Waikato is third with 29.
For 60% of the team [140], Birmingham will be their first Commonwealth Games while 93 are making returns. Leading the way in the veterans department will be gymnast Misha Koudinov and Val Smith who are both heading to their fifth Games.
New Zealand athletes have already begun arriving in the UK ahead of the Games which kick off on Thursday July 28. The women’s rugby sevens team, women’s hockey team, 3x3 basketballers, men’s artistic gymnasts and lawn bowls athletes will be the first athletes welcomed when they arrive on July 22.
The first athletes in action are the Lawn Bowls teams on the morning of July 29.
New Zealand Commonwealth Games team for Birmingham 2022 at a glance
- 233 athletes
- 125 female, 108 male (54% female, NZ's highest ever female % representation)
- Sue Curran (B2-B3 lawn bowls) is our oldest athlete at 75, Maggie Squire (diving) is our youngest at 16
- Average athlete age of 27
- Misha Koudinov (Gymnastics), Val Smith (Lawn Bowls) are our most capped athletes, heading to their fifth Games
- 20% of the team is Māori
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