Southland’s regional sports trust has a new name, Active Southland.

Established as Sport Southland in 1990 under principles created by the Hillary Commission - now Sport New Zealand - the trust has provided ongoing support to the sport and active recreation sector for the past three decades.

The new title, including the Te Reo name Te Tākaro Ora O Murihiku gifted by the Waihopai Runaka, was launched at a special function with key stakeholders at ILT Stadium Southland on Tuesday.

Active Southland chief executive Brendon McDermott said the new name better reflects the work the organization currently does to support play, active recreation and sport across Southland, and would help support a focus on tamariki, rangatahi and getting Southlanders more active.

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"Our old brand has served us well for a long time, but we talked extensively to our key stakeholders and Southlanders of all walks of life and there was a strong mandate for a change," he said.

"The community also gave us a clear message about where they would like our focus to go. For that to happen we also knew that having ‘sport’ in our name can be a barrier and that we needed a change to help us tell our story more effectively.

"Active Southland – Te Tākaro Ora O Murihiku – will continue to lead, grow and strengthen the places we spend the most time to make it easier for all Southlanders to be active."

McDermott was adamant that supporting sport remained an important aspect of Active Southland’s work.

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"Encouraging participation in, and advocating for, sport is still a major part of the work that we do," he said.

"Sport is part of the fabric of Southland life and is an essential element of physical activity that we still endorse and support, along with play and active recreation."

Active Southland is the second of the country's network of regional sports trusts to rebrand this year. Sport Wellington rebranded as Nuku Ora in March.