It's that of time of the year - the RNZ Sports crew look back of the sporting highlights, lowlights, and oddities of the sporting year that was.
Here's Felicity Reid's thoughts on the 2022 sporting year.
What was your sporting highlight of the year?
The Black Ferns embodied the joy of sport. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Athletes enJOYing themselves.
The Black Ferns proved champions can be charismatic and team success doesn't need to come at the cost of individuality.
World cup winning Black Ferns coach Wayne Smith spoke often during the tournament of the "joy" the players had for rugby and for playing on the world stage at home.
You didn't need to hear Smith say this on repeat you could just look at the players on the field, in front of the cameras or mixing with fans in the stadiums and on the streets to see what it meant to them.
Prop Amy Rule was quick to point out on the eve of the world cup final that the Black Ferns were just as focussed as the All Blacks but they took a different approach to the big moments. She didn't say it but I think she was hinting the Black Ferns have more fun.
Former Black Ferns captain and current New Zealand Rugby board member Dr Farah Palmer took the microphone and was literally singing the praises of the Black Ferns at the fan event the day after the world cup win - an unconventional approach for one of the 'suits' of the game but proof that even they can enjoy what the team achieved in a relatable way if they chose to.
Plenty to smile about - Jacko Gill and Tom Walsh (right) celebgrate silver and gold medals respectively on gold and silver medals in the shot put at the Birmingham Games. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
The Commonwealth Games, known as the Friendly Games, is another example of athletes winning while grinning this year.
New Zealand's Commonwealth Games swimmers in particular were a group of athletes whose interactions have stuck with me.
Even before they hit the water in Birmingham the athletes were talking about how much the team of able bodied and para-athletes were enjoying each others company at the pre-Games training camp. This was amplified beside the pool deck and in the stands when they celebrated each others successes including a record five gold medals.
What was your sporting lowlight of the year?
Sportwashing.
Not new to 2022 but a controversial Football World Cup in Qatar, a Winter Olympics in Beijing and a netball sponsorship saga in Australia brought the issue of countries and companies throwing money at sports and events purely to improve their public image and sanitise their human rights violations back to the forefront.
Biggest wake-up call of the year?
The Black Ferns winning the Rugby World Cup.
The were plenty of positives to come from an underdog New Zealand team defending the title on home soil in front of record crowds. But it also papered over the cracks of where the Black Ferns had been let down by New Zealand Rugby in the lead up to the tournament.
It was against the odds that the Black Ferns were successful in 2022. Other teams were better resourced, had stronger domestic and international competition, weren't forgotten about by their national body on International Women's Day and fans weren't forced to choose between watching the women's team at the world cup or the men in a Test match.
Winning gave the players and outgoing coach a platform to ask for more from NZR but there is a danger that NZR doesn't think anything more needs to be done if they can retain the world cup while giving the national side the bare minimum.
Hopefully the growth of women's rugby - on and off the field, at the top and the grassroots - will be a highlight of 2023.
What are you looking forward to in 2023?
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand continuing to host world class sporting events.
The Women's Football World Cup will be the biggest sporting event ever held in Aotearoa when the competition kicks off at Eden Park in July. This world cup ends a recent run of global showpiece events in New Zealand and with fewer hosting opportunities on the horizon - due to event funding among other factors - I'll be encouraging everyone to make the most of the world cup being here.
Also looking forward to the continuation of sport bouncing back from Covid disruptions with New Zealand teams in five more world cups in cricket, netball, rugby and basketball in what should be full stadiums overseas.
-RNZ
