SupportHER Club

Sport. It’s more than just a game. It builds confidence, resilience, lifelong skills and friendships. What you learn on the court or pitch stays with you throughout your life. That’s why it’s so important that women and girls continue to play, and stay involved in sport at all levels.

While New Zealand has a proud history of female sporting success, we know that the playing field for women’s sport is not always fair.  Women’s sport gets less media coverage, less funding, less resources, and at younger levels girls are twice as likely to drop out of sport. That’s why we’ve created the SupportHER Club as part of our commitment to Fighting for Fair for women and girls in sport at every level. Because sport is worth it and so is she.

The SupportHER Club provides information on 2degrees’ sponsorships and partnerships with women’s sports teams and organisations, as well as resources for parents, coaches and other supporters. There are many other fantastic initiatives going on across clubs, schools, and sporting bodies nationwide to get girls playing, keep them in the game, and grow women’s sport at amateur and professional levels. Learn more about how you can be a SupportHER.

Image of NZ Tall Ferns playing basketball
PARTNER
2degrees Tall Ferns
We’re throwing our weight behind the 2degrees Tall Ferns. This partnership gives our Tall Ferns more visiblity, helping to inspire young people to not only support, but to play the game.
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Image of woman playing Rugby
PARTNER
Super Rugby Aupiki Clubs
You’ll find us in the stands supporting all four Super Rugby Aupiki clubs as they compete across Aotearoa, celebrating talent and sportsmanship throughout the season.
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Photo of a coach talking to her team in the Girls Got Game Programme
PARTNER
Girls Got Game Programme
We’re backing The Girls Got Game Programme - a Basketball NZ initiative encouraging young women to pursue basketball. Helping pave the way for the female athletes of tomorrow.
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Image of Tania Dalton workers
PARTNER
Tania Dalton Foundation
In the spirit of Fighting for Fair in women’s sport, we proudly support the Tania Dalton Foundation. This charity helps nurture young wāhine, providing them with resources and opportunities to pursue sporting careers.
More→
Image of a girl playing rugby

Helping young girls stay in sport:
Dom Vettise’s top tips

At 2degrees, we believe in keeping young girls in the game—because sport builds confidence, resilience, and friendships that last a lifetime. We reached out to clinical and performance psychologist Dom Vettise for his top tips on how to support young girls to stay active and feel empowered in sport.

Dom Vettise is a respected clinical and performance psychologist in NZ, specialising in high-performance athletes and sports organisations. His approach emphasises building mental resilience and connection through personal identity and values, enhancing performance. Dom is involved in mental health and wellbeing strategies for NZ Rugby, NZ Football, and Canoe Racing NZ. He has a personal commitment to supporting girls in sports, aligning with his values as a father of two daughters.
Dom Vertisse Clinical Psychologist
Dom Vettise
Clinical Psychologist

Tip #1

Find her tribe—sport is more fun with friends

Girls who enjoy being around their teammates are more likely to stick with their sport. So choose a team where they feel supported, and invite friends to join.

Tip Breakdown

Science behind why it’s important and tailored to girls:

Girls are more likely than boys to stay in sport because of friendships and social belonging. If their team environment feels unsupportive, they’re more likely to leave. Boys, while they also value friendships, tend to stay in sport for the competition and the challenge itself.

Practical takeaway for the parents/ guardians/ coaches/ teachers:

Encourage friendships in sport by arranging carpooling, team events, and social gatherings. Ask, “Who did you enjoy playing with today?” instead of just “How was the game?
Image of a girls basketball team lined up in front of their coach
Image of woman playing rugby

Tip #2

Reframe setbacks as growth opportunities

Even top athletes make tonnes of mistakes, but the key to success is to learn from them instead of giving up.

Tip Breakdown

Science behind why it’s important and tailored to girls:

Girls tend to underestimate their abilities, whereas boys are more likely to overestimate their abilities.  Teaching girls to see mistakes as learning experiences rather than failures helps them stay in sport longer. Encouraging a growth mindset—where setbacks are seen as part of improvement rather than a reason to quit—builds resilience.

Practical takeaway for the parents/ guardians/ coaches/ teachers: 

Avoid criticism like, “You should have done better.” Instead, ask, “What did you learn today?” or “Where did you notice yourself improve…even the smallest amount?”

Tip #3

Strong is powerful

Our bodies are designed to move, grow, and get stronger. Sport isn’t about looking a certain way—it’s about what your body can do.

Tip Breakdown

Science behind why it’s important and tailored to girls: 

Girls experience a greater drop in confidence and sport participation around puberty compared to boys. Increased self-consciousness about body changes, along with societal pressures, makes girls more likely to step away from sport. Boys, in contrast, often experience puberty as a time of increasing strength and competitiveness, which can reinforce their commitment to sport.

Practical takeaway for the parents/ guardians/ coaches/ teachers:

Avoid making comments about body shape. Instead, praise strength, skill, and resilience. Normalise puberty changes and remind your daughter that her body is adapting to support her in sport and life.
Image of a girl dribbling a basketball
Photo of a woman playing rugby who has just finished kicking the ball

Tip #4

Let courage propel her forward

Fear of judgement shouldn’t stop young girls from playing, and instead choose to embrace courage. It is about helping to reduce fear, not get rid of it. 

Tip Breakdown

Science behind why it’s important and tailored to girls: 

Girls often face more societal conditioning than boys that discourages risk-taking and assertiveness, making courage essential for their confidence and independence. Developing courage helps them challenge gender stereotypes, embrace failure as a learning opportunity, and build resilience against self-doubt. 

Practical takeaway for the parents/ guardians/ coaches/ teachers:

Encourage bravery. If a young girl hesitates to try something, remind her of past times she pushed through and succeeded. Create a focus before a game, race or event; ask her what courage may look like for her today. 

Tip #5

Girls thrive on variety

Girls stay in sport longer when they play multiple sports as opposed to specialising in one. Variety keeps things fresh and builds better overall motor and psychological skills.

Tip Breakdown

Science behind why it’s important and tailored to girls:

While both boys and girls benefit from multi-sport participation, boys are often encouraged to specialise earlier due to cultural expectations of competitiveness. Girls, however, are more likely to drop out if a sport becomes too serious too soon, as they often seek variety and enjoyment over pure competition.

Practical takeaway for the parents/ guardians/ coaches/ teachers:

Support multi-sport participation to prevent burnout and overuse injuries.  However be mindful of overloading commitments and expectations at a young age. Normally two to three extramural activities is enough, and rotate through the year(s) for as long as possible. 
Photo of a basketball coach showing a girl how to dribble the basketball

Getting to know Katelyn Vahaakolo

Rugby star and voice of our SupportHER Club campaign

Katelyn shares what support means to her, why she believes sport plays a vital role in the lives of young girls, and why she's such a passionate advocate for women in sport.

What does support mean to you?

A lot especially because not everyone has it like I do. I am very blessed and a lot of my achievements are a reflection of the support and love that surrounds me.

What is your take on why it’s so important that girls get involved in sport?

I think sport is a place you can make friends and find family, some of my closest friends are in my rugby team. I think for a lot of people, we want to be around people and places where we feel like we belong, and I believe sport offers that. Sport doesn’t just teach physical stuff, but it teaches confidence.

Photo of Katelyn Vahaakolo
Photo of Katelyn Vahaakolo and two other members of the Woman's Blues Rugby team

Who was the most supportive during your early years in sport, and how?

My Dad, he used to train me, come to all the sport I was involved in, coached the teams I was a part of and would ALWAYS tell me how proud he was of me no matter what.

How does it feel to have your friends, family, and fans cheering you on from the sidelines?

A blessing. I’m so lucky to have family and friends that love to see me happy and living my dreams. My success is their success.

How did it feel being part of the 2degrees SupportHER Club TV ad? Lending your voice and experience to the cause?

It’s a privilege for me to do anything that helps advocate for women in sport. I want all girls to know that they deserve support and care in whatever it is the want to do, it might not even be sport, it might be art or mathematics. The more we encourage girls to give things a go and for them to FEEL that support, the better it is.

How we’re showing up

Photo of a Woman coaching a girls basketball team

Mentorship and community

We took our support for the Girls Got Game Programme to the next level by launching the 2degrees Summer of Basketball in 2024. With this initiative we reached an additional 5,000 schoolgirls across New Zealand, helping them to discover the fun and excitement of the game.

We were also thrilled to surprise an Auckland High School girls’ basketball team with an unforgettable visit from one of their sporting idols – 2degrees Tall Fern, Charlisse Leger-Walker. Charlisse spent the afternoon taking the team through drills, sharing tips, and running a Q&A session, offering invaluable insights into her journey as a professional athlete.

Evening the playing field

In 2023, we hosted the Womentorship Programme, inviting 182 schoolgirls to spend a day at their local Super Rugby Aupiki club. They had the incredible opportunity to learn tips and tricks from their rugby idols—because you can't be what you can't see.

In 2024, we set out to make the Super Rugby Aupiki final more accessible to Kiwis and offer a fresh perspective on the game. So, in a world-first, we became the first to broadcast a sports final live on TikTok.

Action shot of the Woman's Hurricanes vs Highlanders game
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