Issue 1 : 18 March 2018
Talofa Lava, Kia Orana, Malo E Leilei, Tena Koutou, Hello ...
... and welcome to the first issue of “For The Love Of The Game”, the official e-zine of the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association Inc. We hope you enjoy reading the articles below.
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Spacewise Amateur Sports Hour ...
With the generous support of Spacewise New Zealand (www.spacewise.co.nz) and in partnership with Te Reo Irirangi o Te Upoko o Te Ika Trust Incorporated, the Association has created the weekly “Amateur Sports Hour” radio show, on 1161AM and available via the web at www.teupoko.co.nz.
Hosted by well-known broadcasters David Piper, Adam Julian and Sandy Antipas, the show is intended to show-case amateur sport stories from all sporting codes, from across New Zealand. You can listen to this week’s show, by clicking here.
Welcome To Basketball New Zealand ...
The Association welcomes Basketball New Zealand as a National Sporting Organisation Member. Basketball New Zealand is the national body for the sport of basketball in New Zealand, with the objective to develop, grow and promote basketball and participants of the game by:
- encouraging more people to play basketball;
- strategically supporting BBNZ's nationwide Associations;
- providing competitive opportunities at a national level;
- providing talent development pathways;
- organising international competition and overseeing national teams;
- developing game support; and
- marketing the game.
The Association looks forward to working with Basketball New Zealand as they work toward their objectives as described above. You can learn more about Basketball New Zealand at www.nz.basketball.
Mind Over Matter ...
Earlier this month, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario enacted a new law concerning concussion safety for organisations engaged in amateur competitive sport.
Known as Rowan’s Law, the legislation requires all amateur sports associations, clubs and school teams to immediately remove from play any athlete suspected of suffering a concussion. They are only allowed to return to play after following a supervised protocol that ensures they have fully recovered. The measures are intended to forestall “second-impact syndrome,” a condition brought on when a person suffers a new concussion while still recovering from an existing one. The law also mandates training on concussion management for athletes, coaches and parents, and an annual review to ensure awareness materials are up to date.
In New Zealand, it’s reported that over the period 2001–2011 there were nearly 21,000 sport-related concussion claims from seven sports codes in New Zealand. The number of unreported concussions (for which medical attention is not immediately required or sought), is considerably higher.
Particularly in teenage and young adult age groups, medical research is increasingly available measuring the impact of unreported concussion on the brains of youth and adolescent athletes. For example, one study notes, “concussions can affect short-term memory in adolescents, which is essential for reading and calculating, and those effects can last for six months or longer”.
The Association acknowledges that many sporting codes in this country have, or are now adopting, voluntary concussion management policies, with the focus of these protocols progressively moving from protecting elite participants to protecting amateur participants, particularly youth.
The Association recommends that all sporting clubs and codes in New Zealand consider and adopt a framework which is similar in effect and reach to Rowan’s Law, given the concussion risks borne by all sportspeople when competing as amateurs.
2018 Annual General Meeting ...
Members are advised that the first Annual General Meeting of the Association will be held on Monday, 23 April 2018 at the Scott Room of the Wellesley Club, Maginnity Street, Wellington at 5.30pm.
Per clause 7.4 of the Constitution, the Annual General Meeting of the Association is for the purposes of:
- receiving the Association’s Annual Report and Statement of Accounts;
- electing Officers, (incl. Board Members);
- appointing the Honorary Auditor and Solicitor;
- receiving reports of key personnel;
- considering notices of motion and notices of business; and
- transacting any general business.
Wellington Rugby Joins The Association's Community ...
The Wellington Rugby Football Union Inc. has joined the Association as a Regional Sporting Body, with the goal of promoting and networking the benefits and challenges of amateur sport with like-minded organisations.
Wellington Rugby has a proud record of participation in Rugby Union and is consistently among the top three provincial unions in the country in terms of playing numbers. In 2015, nearly 11,000 players registered to play rugby across all grades of rugby from under 6 Rippa boys and girls, through to secondary school grades and into premier men's and women's competitions. In addition, there are more than 1,000 registered coaches, 150+ referees and countless volunteers and administrators that are ultimately the driving force of Wellington's community game.
New Association Web-Site ...
With the support of First Sovereign Trust, the Association has launched it's new web presence at www.asa.org.nz. Over time, the web-site is intended to become a key resource centre for the Association and its Members. You can also keep up-to-date with Association news via Twitter, @AmateurSportNZ.
From The Archives ...
In this regular segment of the e-zine, we look back through the archives to the role of sport in New Zealand communities, as a force for social good. In this issue, we look back 107 years to the launch of the New Zealand Sports Protection League.
EVENING POST, VOLUME LXXXII, ISSUE 16, 19 JULY 1911
TO DEFEND SPORT.
A PROTECTION LEAGUE.
CAMPAIGN ARRANGED.
"A meeting to form a New Zealand Sports Protection League was held in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall last evening. Mr. H. D. Bell presided. Representatives of the press were not admitted, but the following official report of the proceedings was supplied.
In addition to a number of delegates from the various New Zealand Racing and Trotting Clubs, the following New Zealand sports organisations were represented: Ashburton Football Union, Inangahua Football Union, Marlborough Rugby Union, Gisborne Rugby Union, Pirate Football Club, Wellington Cricket Association, Wellington Hockey Association, Wellington Golf Club, Dannevirke Lawn Tennis Club, New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, Napier Athletic Club, Otago Amateur Athletic Association, Ashburton Amateur Athletic Club, New Zealand Athletic and Cycling Union, Kumara Axemen's Carnival Committee, Kamo Axemen's Carnival Committee, Hokitika Sports Committee, Pioneer Athletic Club (Chtistchurch), Tolaga Bay Athletic Club, Manawatu Golf Club, Pakuranga Hunt Club. Rangitikei Hunt Club, Birchwood Hunt Club. Egmont-Wanganui Hunt Club, Hawkes Bay Boxing Association, Northern Boxing' Association (Auckland), Parnell Boxing Club (Auckland), Wellington Boxing Association, Port Nicholson Yacht Club, Wellington Metropolitan Coursing Club, Great Northern Coursing Club (Auckland), West Coast Coursing Club (Reefton), Horowhenua A. and P. Association, Royal Life-saving Society (Christchurch), Auckland Billiards Association, Star Boating Club (Wellington).
Mr. R. A. Armstrong (Auckland Mutual Sports Protection Association) moved the following resolution: "That this conference of New Zealand sports organisations, realising the necessity for safeguarding our national sports and pastimes, resolves that a New Zealand Sports Protection Association be formed, with branches throughout the Dominion."
Sir Francis Henry Dillon Bell, Prime Minister, President of Wellington Rugby Football Union, Wellington Cricket Assocation and Wellington Racing Club, photographed here in 1914
The Final Word ...
"Sport is a universal language, building more bridges between people than anything else I can think of."
(Sebastian Coe, CH KBE)