Issue 135 : 13 August 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.
2023 National Sport Club Survey Opens This Thursday ...
An important reminder that the sixth annual National Sport Club Survey will be open this week, on Thursday. A link to participate in the survey will be sent by e-Mail to all sport clubs on our database of over 7,000 sport clubs. Don’t forget to enter the Dynasty Sport prize-draw for $500 of Dynasty Sport sportswear when you complete the survey.
If you’re unsure if your club is on our National Sport Club Survey database, or if you need to change the contact details for your club, please contact support@asa.org.nz. We are in the process of building a brand-new website for the survey, which we anticipate will be on-line in late September. The new website will house all survey resources including details of upcoming workshops and events as well as insight infographics from past surveys.
Wyncourt Tennis Club Inc. Faces Lease Renewal Refusal ...
Wellington’s Wyncourt Municipal Tennis Club Inc. was founded three-score and four years ago in October 1959, being granted the lease of the former Kelburn Parade Municipal Tennis Club founded in 1925. Today the future of the club is in doubt, as the Wellington City Council may not renew the club’s current lease of Council-owned land.
(Opening Day of the Kelburn Parade Municipal Tennis Club in October 1930)
While the club was originally located in the Town Belt on the eastern side of the croquet pavilion in Kelburn Park, in February 1964 the John Reid Squash Centre was given permission by the Wellington City Council to build additional squash courts on that area. Understandably, the Wyncourt members were not happy with that proposal and as a result of a legal agreement between the Council and the club, Wyncourt was offered a new site at Appleton Park, in Karori.
(The current club court maintained by members on Council-owned land in Karori)
The cost of constructing and fencing of the new court was proposed to be a charge against the Squash Centre, with the Wyncourt club accepting the deal on 1 March 1964. Today, the club boasts a membership around 95 adults and 50 children located in the surrounding area, with subscriptions paid by club members used for the upkeep of the court. However, Council management have recently advised the club's management committee that they will recommend to Council that the lease not be renewed.
(Sport clubs leasing local authority land deliver substantial value to local communities)
According to the guiding principles of the Council’s “leases policy”, granting of leases “will support groups whose activities contribute to the Council’s priorities and long-term community outcomes.” Those priorities and outcomes must reflect the wishes of ratepayers, who the Council represents. Unless the physical and social benefits of community tennis, financially supported by members who maintain the facilities, are no longer considered by ratepayers to be a priority or a desired community outcome, renewal of the club's lease would appear to be definitely in the community’s best interests.
Is your club facing challenges in terms of your relationship with your local authority over the use of Council-owned or operated facilities? If so, we’d like to hear from you.
Political Parties Asked For Policy Details ...
With electioneering for the 2023 General Election now in full swing, the Association approached the identified “sport and recreation” spokespeople for the ACT Party, Green Party, Labour Party and National Party two weeks ago, requesting details of their policies for sport and recreation.
(What do political parties propose for "sport and recreatoin" in New Zealand?)
To date, we’ve only received one response, from Michael Woodhouse (National Party) who writes, “as you will appreciate there is a lot of policy being worked on and the programme of what will be announced and when is being finalised. We’ll keep you in the loop as that is better understood.” No other political party has responded.
As readers of this newsletter will be aware, Sport New Zealand is a “crown agency”, with a vision of “Every Body Active”. Sport New Zealand is accountable to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage which administers its funding and Board appointments, while also monitoring its reporting and performance measures. So, there are “two Ministers” responsible for Sport New Zealand. How “sport and recreation policy” fits within this model is something of a mystery to us, which we will endeavour to decipher and report to you on, as the election approaches.
Still No Word From MBIE Officials ...
While the Corporate Governance and Intellectual Property Policy team at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has kindly acknowledged the receipt of the Association’s submission on “the exposure draft of the Incorporated Societies Regulations 2023 and initial fees to be charged under the new regime”, we’ve heard nothing since. MBIE has confirmed that the Association’s submission “will be considered in due course”, however there is no indication if there is an intent to discuss our concerns with us, (or any other submitter).
(Officials have yet to respond on the Association's detailed submission)
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation & Development) noted in a 2011 report that “citizens can mistrust public officials’ sincerity in engaging the public”. Feedback received by the OECD on regulatory consultation processes included: “We cannot influence the decision anyway”. “The decision is already taken and they invite us only to legitimise their action, (‘tick-box consultations’)”. “The consultation always starts too late to really have an impact”. “It remains unclear what they do with our feedback – this shows that they really do not want to shed light into the black box of how the government works”.
(Consultation is more than a process of simply "making a submission")
The Association has received similar comments from community sport stakeholders. We are confident that MBIE will ensure that the current submission process continues to engage with community sport's stakeholders before the new regulations are finalised, for release in October.
372 Dissolutions Gazetted By Companies Office ...
372 incorporated societies were dissolved by the Registrar on 18 July 2023. 40% (150) were community sport organisations. The "top 5 codes" by dissolution number were: (1) rugby league; (2) rugby union; (3) basketball; (4) football; and (5) golf, (followed by netball and hockey).
(Dissolutions of incorporated CSOs continues across many sporting codes)
A New Tax Guide For Community Sport Organisations ...
In association with FINDEX (one of Australasia's leading providers of integrated financial advisory and accounting services), the Association has prepared a comprehensive income tax guide for community sport organisations (CSOs). This will shortly be provided to Association Members, with a general public invitation to attend free-of-charge ZOOM seminars on the topic of income tax obligations and exemptions, to be offered for dates in October.
(CSOs have statutory income tax obligations to meet annually)
If you’re involved in CSO, you may not be aware that income tax obligations (filing annual income tax returns) exist for most CSOs. If your CSO is an incorporated society that’s now considering re-registering under the new Incorporated Societies Act, as part of updating your Rules/Constitution it may also be a good time to ensure those documents contain the relevant clauses, required by the Inland Revenue Department, enabling you to apply for an income tax exemption. Dates for our free-of-charge ZOOM seminars in October will be advised shortly.
(The Association will be offering free-of-charge public seminars on tax in October)
From The Archives ...
TUAPEKA TIMES, VOLUME XVII, ISSUE 1028, 29 MARCH 1884, PAGE 2
“We have received a copy of the first issue of a new venture in journalism, called ''The Athlete." This paper is a Dunedin get-up and will supply a felt want in athletic and sporting circles. It is intended by the publishers to make "The Athlete" the medium of supplying full reports of all athletic meetings throughout the country. The daily and weekly papers having to find space for such a variety of information, is not always able to do justice to athletic and sporting news; consequently, "The Athlete" should be welcomed. We wish it every success.”
NORTH OTAGO TIMES, VOLUME XXVIII, ISSUE 3616, 8 APRIL 1884, PAGE 2
“The Athlete, a small foolscap periodical published In Dunedin, has come to hand. The journal, as its name implies, will be devoted to recording the various noteworthy athletic events that take place in this and the neighbouring colonies, and should the support of those interested in athleticism be sufficient to warrant it, various improvements in the paper are promised.”
Douglas Harris Hastings was born on 13 May 1857 in Greenhithe, Kent, England, the only son of Major-General Douglas Hastings (of the 78th Highlanders the Wiltshire Regiment) and Esther (Harris) Hastings. He was educated at St. John's College, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, and then, after spending 12 months in Austrian Poland at the Agricultural College of Dublaccy, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1875 as a cadet upon a sheep station, in the Wairarapa.
(Douglas Harris Hastings, lived a full and interesting life, supporting sport)
Subsequently he entered the Civil Service, and then after several years working in various parts of the country (including for the New Zealand Insurance Company) he settled down to “press work”, establishing “The Athlete” newspaper in Dunedin, in March 1884. The paper lasted less than a year before closing down. Douglas married Anne Campbell Gilchrist in 1885 with home he raised five daughters, Anne, Frances, Tui, Ruth and Ella, and a son Douglas.
Harris Hastings was said to be a prominent athlete and a mile runner of considerable repute. He paved the way for the establishment of amateur athletics in the Otago province, being the first secretary of the Dunedin Amateur Athletic Club (in the mid-1880s), one of the most famous clubs of its kind to flourish in New Zealand.
He was also the first secretary of the Dunedin Gymnastic Club and one of the earliest members of the Athletic Football Club in Wellington, in whose first fifteen he played for some years. Later he joined the East Christchurch Club, and when he came to Dunedin linked up with the Zingari Club, of which he was secretary before the amalgamation with the Richmond club took place. He played in the Zingari senior fifteen and was interested in all forms of sport, “which perhaps accounted for the fact that he seemed to possess the secret of perpetual youth.”
(Hastings, circled as Secretary of the New Zealand Chess Association, in 1920)
Among other life achievements, in 1886 Harris Hastings was elected the first secretary of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce. He was also appointed to the post of secretary to the Dunedin and South Seas Exhibition in 1889-90. He was honorary treasurer of the New Zealand Chess Association in the mid-1920’s. Douglas Harris Hastings died on 13 July 1940, at his home on 21 Moreau Street, Dunedin and he is buried in Dunedin’s Northern Cemetery.
The Final Word ...
"You are ready; let's show the world you are ready as well'."
("Matildas" Head Coach, Tony Gustavsson inspires his team to victory)