Issue 113 : 11 September 2022
Talofa Lava, Kia Orana, Malo E Leilei, Tena Koutou, Hello ...
... and welcome to the latest issue of “For The Love Of The Game”, the official e-zine of the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association Inc., founded in Wellington, New Zealand in 2017.
If you have any feedback on this issue, ideas for future articles, or would like to contact the Editor, please click here. And, you are invited to forward the e-zine to others you know, who may be interested in reading it. An archive of earlier editions of the e-zine can be found here.
For those who follow Twitter, you can also follow the Association, @AmateurSportNZ.
If you are interested in applying for membership of the Association, please click here.
333 CSO Dissolutions In 3 Months …
333 community sport entities have been dissolved by the Registrar of Incorporated Societies in the last 3 months, following the notification of 38 further dissolutions made on 1 September. Whether involuntary (or voluntary), the accelerating dissolution rate highlights the growing loss of capability in sport delivery to Kiwi families and communities.
Among the community sport entities dissolved by the Registrar on 1 September were: the Lower Hutt Amateur Athletic Club Inc.; the Darfield Bowling Club Inc.; Hamilton Hornets Rugby League And Sports Club Inc.; the Hawkes Bay Softball Association Inc.; the Stratford Indoor Basketball Association Inc. and the Rodney & Otamatea Soccer Association Football Club Inc.
(There is a real risk of the gates being permanently shut by many volunteer entities)
Based on their social media activity, It appears that all of these community sport organisations are continuing to operate irrespective of their dissolved status, potentially exposing those responsible for their management to personal risk and liability. With compliance under the now repealed 1908 Act a challenge for many groups staffed by volunteers, there are growing fears of "an extinction event" for community sport entities once the new Act takes full effect.
National Sport Club (NSCS) Survey Still Open …
The 2022 National Sport Club Survey (NSCS) opened on 28 August and is still open for responses from across New Zealand’s many and diverse sporting communities. The questions in the 2022 NSCS are about 70% different from those in 2021. The questions that are the same are part of an effort to track trends over time on important metrics like financial performance and membership. So, if you completed the 2021 NSCS please do so again in 2022 and if you haven’t before, please make your contribution to this important initiative.
(Make sure you take the opportunity to contribute to the 2022 survey)
The key addition for the 2022 NSCS relates to clubs’ leverage of major events, but items related to councils and recent legislative change are also included for the first time. For more details on how to access the 2022 survey, please click here.
New Video Promotes Te Reo Māori In Community Sport …
We'd like to invite you to view a new video featuring Association Board Member Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, focusing on the role of te teo Māori in community sport clubs and the recent "Te Tohu Tiketike o Matariki" award made to Otaki Surf Lifesaving Club Inc.
(Cushla Tangaere-Manuel is a NZ Māori Rugby Board Member)
You can view the video by clicking here:
NSCS Contributes To International Tennis Federation (ITF) Review …
Across an array of contexts, a ‘female-friendly environment’ is increasingly thought to positively impact participation levels for women and girls. The aim of a study recently published by the International Tennis Federation, was to provide insights on the female-friendliness of New Zealand’s tennis clubs.
Both numeric and text data were collected as part of the 2021 "National Sport Club Survey", (NSCS). Tennis club representatives agreed more strongly that their clubs had suitable changing facilities for women/girls and that playing/training times are equally allocated, compared to club representatives across the full survey sample, across every sport.
You can read the full report here.
Upper Hutt City Seminar On Legislative Change …
The Association's seminar on the Incorporated Societies Act was presented in Upper Hutt City on 31 August, with the local sports community expressing concern at the risk of "an extinction event" for local clubs. With thanks to Brent Hayward and the team at "Activation" for hosting us.
Did you know that under the 1908 Act (repealed), societies that are not registered as charities do not have to have their financial statements checked by an independent auditor? Under the 2022 Act, that changes. A society not registered as a charity will have to have its financial statements for a given year "audited" if, in each of the two preceding years, its total operating expenditure exceeds a certain threshold. That threshold will be set by regulations in 2023.
Seminars Move To Ashburton, Timaru And Greymouth ...
Over the next few weeks, the Association’s seminars on the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 will be moving the Mid Canterbury (Ashburton), South Canterbury (Timaru) and the West Coast (Greymouth), as part of our national focus in disseminating information concerning the recent legislative change to the widest number of New Zealanders involved in delivering sport to their local communities, as possible.
(Seminars are on offer in the Canterbury and West Coast regions)
The Canterbury seminars will be held on 21 September, with the West Coast seminar to be held on 3 October. Further details in terms of venues and times can be provided by Shaun Campbell from Sport Canterbury, by giving Shaun a call on 027 858 1080.
Affordable Sports Campaign Gathers Momentum ..
The "Affordable Sports for Greater Wellington" campaign, comprising six regional sporting organisations and supported by the Association, has a goal of lowering sports fees for players and families in the Greater Wellington Region. 75 of 142 council and mayoral candidates across the Greater Wellington region have now committed to a review into lowering sports fees.
(Six sport entitles are participating in the "Affordable Sports Campaign")
The goal is for all councils in the region to review and suggest ways in which sport fields, turfs and indoor facilities can be priced transparently and fairly for all users. You can read more about the campaign, here. Association Board Member and current Mayor of Upper Hutt City, Wayne Guppy supports a review being undertaken, while Association Vice-President, John Morrison has joined the group as the Association’s representative. Voting in local body elections commences on 16 September.
(A large chunk of club subscriptions go to paying for use of rate-payer-owned facilities)
From The Archives …
CURRENT NOTES
PRESS, VOLUME LXXI, ISSUE 21424, 16 MARCH 1935, PAGE 2
“In recognition of the honour she has brought the Marton Golf Club in winning, on two occasions, the women's golf championship of the Dominion, the club has decided to confer on Mrs R. S. Fullerton-Smith (formerly Miss Bessie Gaisford) the distinction of life membership. Before her marriage, which took place recently, Mrs Fullerton-Smith presented to the club a trophy, which now constitutes the main attraction in the men's championship division.”
Muriel Bessie Gaisford (known as "Bessie") was born on 3 April 1907, the eldest child of farmer Henry and Ethel Louisa (nee “Ettie” Ellers, of Ngāti Kahungunu descent) Gaisford, of “Wahroonga” in Marton. She had a younger sister, Marjorie Maud Helen. At the age of three, her parents separated and her father remarried in 1913, (her mother, two further times). Bessie attended Marton’s Nga Tawa School from 1918 to 1923.
(Bessie Gaisford was a New Zealand champion golfer in the 1930's)
Bessie’s interest in the game of golf most likely originated from her Aunt Helen, who was a member of the Marton Golf Club, ladies section, in the early 1920’s. Bessie is recorded as being a playing member of the Marton Golf Club from 1925, as an 18 year old and she first competed in the New Zealand Ladies Championship in 1927. She first became New Zealand champion in 1931, a feat she repeated in 1934, (she was runner-up in 1930 and 1933).
(In 1934, Bessie played in the British and French Open tournaments)
In 1933 she was selected in the New Zealand Women’s Golf team and clipped three strokes off the course record when playing in the national women's golf championship tournament at Victoria Links, Melbourne. In 1934, Bessie represented New Zealand at the British ladies' open golf championship, at Royal Porthcawl, South Wales, making it to the third round, (the best performance from an international competitor that year). She also played in the French Open that year, making the final eight before being eliminated. In 1938 she was in the Tasman Cup Golf team and she continued to compete in the NZ Ladies championships until the late 1940’s.
(In 1972, Bessie became a Member of the Order of the British Empire)
Bessie married Roden Surtees Fullerton-Smith on 20 February 1935 at St. Stephen’s Church in Marton, (whom she first met in 1928). A keen horsewoman and founding member of the Rangitikei Pony Club in 1946, she was made a member of the British Empire in 1972 by Queen Elizabeth II, for services to equestrian sport. Bessie died in 2008, at the celebrated age of 101 and is buried in the Mt. View Cemetery, Marton.
The Final Word …
“To comprehend the loss of our Queen is almost impossible, because it seemed, and we hoped, she could reign forever.”
(Leah Williamson, Captain, England Women’s Football Team)
