In 1952 a Secondary School Sports Association was established in Taranaki by Dr George Thompson, for the purpose of holding “intersecs “ . Athletics was the first event at Rugby Park in 1953 and for the next few years the “intersecs” were rotated between Rugby Park, Pukekura Park and Victoria Park, Stratford.
Following the success of the “intersecs”, in 1957, the first Intersecondary Swimming Sports were held at the Municipal Pool in New Plymouth, which lead to a number of new events added in the 1960’s under the guidance of the then Secretary of TSSSA, Mr. Dan Archibald.
By 1990 the number of events on offer had increased to 21. Mr. Barry Finch of Spotswood College was president of the Association at the time and along with a subcommittee drew up a revised constitution and set guidelines for the future management of the TSSSA.
Established in 1993 as the Taranaki Secondary School Sports Association, the organisation’s goal has consistently been to provide access and opportunities for all secondary school students in Taranaki to participate in sport. As more schools took on sports coordinators and the understanding of the value of sport increased within schools, so too did the amount of events and programs run by Steve ‘Coach‘ Mckean, as the first Regional Sports Director of the TSSSA.
Today TSSSA offers all secondary school students of all abilities the opportunity to take part in over 40 events each year. TSSSA’s programs and scope of influence has grown to incorporate advocacy and leadership to its member schools and regionally within the secondary school sporting space.
Admin Login