Issue 133 : 16 July 2023
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.
MBIE “Volte Face” On Regulation Consultation ...
It was with an element of genuine surprise, that the Association learned this week that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) had reversed its position on “no public consultation” on the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 draft regulations, announcing that all interested parties have 14 days to respond to the 26-page draft, (released on Monday). We can only assume that the lobbying pressure that was brought to bear on the Minister and his officials by the Association (and possibly others) has resulted in this “volte face” occurring.
(A brief consultation window has now been offered to community sport)
14 days is not a long time to respond, noting that those likely to do so will be in the main from the volunteer sector with full-time employment responsibilities elsewhere, or away with family on school holidays. With one week already elapsed, the Association wonders how many are even aware that this brief window has been opened? We will be providing a response on behalf of ICSOs, a copy of which will be provided directly to Association members.
(A 14 day window was opened by Government to submit on the new regulations)
Capital Football Joins Association ...
The Association welcomes Capital Football Inc. as a new Regional Sporting Body member. Capital Football represents 13,000 registered football players and 5,000 registered futsal players playing these games across its 40 affiliated clubs in the Wellington, Porirua, Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, Kapiti Coast and Horowhenua regions.
(The Association warmly welcomes Capital Football as a new member)
Football is fundamental part of our regional and national sporting community, and the Association warmly welcomes Capital Football’s support of our values and goals. On the eve of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (which kicks-off on Thursday this week), it is timely to reflect on and celebrate the popularity of amateur football within communities and across the country.
"Te Tohu Tiketike O Matariki" – 2023 Award ...
We are pleased to announce that the 2023 Te Tohu Tiketike o Matariki award has been won by the Y.M.P. Hockey Club, (Manutuke, Gisborne), as it celebrates the centenary of its founding.
The award was announced by Association Patron, Andy Leslie, ONZM who convened the judging panel. The award, decided in collaboration with Te Upoko o te Ika, New Zealand’s first te reo Māori radio station, acknowledges a community sport organisation which embraces te reo Māori as part of its kaupapa. It also acknowledges National Volunteer Week (Te Wiki Tūao ā-Motu), with the winner reliant on volunteers to deliver competitive sport to its local community.
Andy Leslie said that “for over a century, community hockey in the Tairāwhiti region has played a key role in bringing people and cultures together “for the love of the game”. The YMP Hockey Club, closely associated with the Rugby Union club of the same name, provides opportunities for both women and men to participate in an inclusive game which celebrates the values of sport and the importance of tikanga in sport, which is so important to the people of the region.”
(The Association congratulates YMP Hockey Club, Manutuke, on its centenary)
New Zealand Powerlifting – "Raising The Bar" ...
Powerlifting is an amateur sport, where there isn’t a lot of funding. The investment of time and money is significant. Recently, the New Zealand Powerlifting Federation Inc. sent a team to the 2023 IPF World Classic Open Powerlifting Championship. The New Zealand team won 2 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 1 bronze medal, winning the third most medals of the nations which attended the event. You can read more here.
(The NZ Powerlifting Federation was first incorporated in 1985)
Calls For A “Protection Of Volunteers In Amateur Sport Act” ...
Following incidents of social media abuse directed at amateur sportspeople in Ireland, there are calls for legislation to be introduced which offers protection to those involved in amateur sport. The President of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Larry McCarthy has suggested that the protection of amateur athletes and officials should be investigated. The legislation would penalise severe, personal, and excessive criticism of amateur athletes and volunteers.
(The incidence of social media abuse is increasing for sport volunteers)
McCarthy proposes that a “Protection of Volunteers in Amateur Sport Act” could entail the design and implementation of a means to initially identify, and then penalise, people who abuse amateur athletes and volunteer sport officials.
He notes that amateur athletes and officials return to their communities after their games, they are back at work shortly after their games, and, unlike professional athletes, are not the beneficiaries of practised support when they are the focus of such criticism. He notes that the very nature of amateur sport suggests that they are the most vulnerable.
You can read more here.
(Larry McCarthy proposes new Irish legislation to support amateur sportspeople)le)
Radio – “The Pictures Are Better” ...
Renowned journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke once said, “I prefer radio to TV, because the pictures are better.” In sport broadcasting, a great exemplar of Cooke’s sentiments was Scottish rugby union commentator Bill McLaren, renowned for his colourful turn of phrase, who once said of the famous English Captain of the 1970’s, “there’s Beaumont in that English scrum, looking like a man who enjoys his food …”.
(The BBC’s Alastair Cooke preferred radio to TV, as “the pictures are better”)
Radio has often been described as the “theatre of the mind” and in the realm of sports commentary, it has the ability to evoke excitement and emotion simply through the eloquence of the spoken word. There is no other medium which allows someone to vicariously participate (“free of charge”) in all the “on-field” action, while undertaking some other form of activity, whether it be, driving the car, working in the garden, walking the dog, or painting the kitchen.
(Bill McLaren had both a distinctive voice and a colourful turn of phrase)
Moreover, radio does not require a contract with telecommunications service provider, or access to an expensive device to experience the drama of a sporting event. It is perhaps the last mode of communication which is truly "egalitarian".
This explains why in New Zealand we still have a "national radio" service broadcast on the AM band to ensure everyone can access essential information, on any form of radio receiver, when needed. (And what can be more essential than connecting with your local sport community?)
A documentary which celebrates of the artistry of free-to-air radio broadcasting of rugby union, was first broadcast on Wellington's Te Upoko o te Ika's "E Tu Whanau Footy Show" on Saturday, 18 April 2020, at a time when community sport was not permitted in New Zealand.
You can listen to the documentary, here.
From The Archives ...
POVERTY BAY HERALD, VOLUME LXVI, ISSUE 19839, 17 JANUARY 1939, PAGE 2
MR. TUROA POHATU
KEEN SUPPORTER OF SPORT (Herald Correspondent.)
"After a short illness, the death occurred in the Cook Hospital last night of Mr. Turoa Pohatu at the age of 50 years. Mr. Pohatu was born at Manutuke and in his youth was a keen supporter of the Y.M.P. Football Club.
He was also instrumental in forming Y.M.P. Girls’ Hockey Club, and just prior to his death he was attempting to re-form the Y.M.P. mens hockey team to represent the district at the hockey tournament to be held in Rotorua in July Mr. Pohatu was a foundation member of the recently formed Tuoi Maori Golf Club and had done a great deal in preparing the course.”
Turoa Pohatu was born on 28 September 1890 at Te Arai, Manutuke, Gisborne, the son of Tiopira Mokiterangi Pohatu and Mauhana Pohatu (nee Turoa).
In 1910, he married Raiha Kuri (also known as Kiwi) from Awapuni in Gisborne with whom he had four children, Tom, Turoa, Maewa and Hinepaku. (Hinepaku was to marry Bernard Edward Rogers the Maori All Black in 1936, the same year that he tragically died following an accident following a match played against Australia in Palmerston North).
(Turoa Pohatu, circled, in service during the Great War)
A labourer in Auckland at the time of his enlistment in the Great War in 1915, Turoa served until 1919 in Egypt and Europe with the Second Māori Contingent. He separated from his wife following his return to New Zealand and moved to the village of Te Kuri, near Gisborne.
(Turoa Pohatu, with he Second Māori Contingent, No. 7 Platoon, B Company)
A long-standing member of the Poverty Bay Golf Club (he was winner of the Reynolds Cup in 1926 and 1927) and later of the Turanganui Golf Club, Turoa Pohatu died on 16 January 1939. It was reported that over 400 people attended his tangi at Manutuke.
The Final Word ...
“The skipper doesn't just give a pass, he presents it on a plate with silver service.”
(Bill McLaren comments on the passing skills of Welsh Captain, John Dawes)