Issue 140 : 22 October 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 Survey Finds More Kiwis Engaging With Clubs Casually ...
The 2023 National Sport Club Survey (NSCS) has revealed that New Zealand’s sport clubs are increasingly catering for casual members. This is in contrast to the decades-old tradition of members paying an annual (or seasonal) subscription to belong. Over one-third of club respondents (35%) reported that the number of members “paying to play” is increasing. This has important implications for those who manage and operate sport clubs.
The percentage of club respondents that reported losing money in 2023 has dropped to 7.8%, a low for the last several years and an indication of post-pandemic financial stability. The average membership of a sport club in New Zealand (203 members) has been stable for the last two years, after dropping by as much as 12% in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
(Fewer clubs report losing money in 2023 and membership numbers are stable)
Chair of the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association, Gordon Noble-Campbell said, “the resilience of community sport clubs reported by the 2023 survey is a positive sign, particularly given the upcoming challenges they will face in complying with the new incorporated societies legislative and regulatory framework.” You can read more, here.
Walton Tennis Club Wins Dynasty Sport Prize Draw ...
The National Sport Club Survey project team, in conjunction with principal project sponsor, Dynasty Sport, are pleased to announce that the Walton Tennis Club Inc. in Matamata (Waikato) is the winner of the 2023 Dynasty Sport Prize Draw, for $500 of Dynasty Sport sportswear. Dynasty Sport’s Paul Latham was on-hand last week, to make the draw. Our thanks to Dynasty Sport for their ongoing generous support of the National Sport Club Survey.
(Paul Latham from Dynasty Sport, left with the Association's Chairman)
The Walton Tennis Club, located in Richmond Downs, to the west of Matamata in the Waikato, was founded in 1931. The club has four floodlit courts which were resurfaced six years ago. The club has players playing in the top Waikato and Thames Valley leagues. It holds Social Tennis Nights on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm for both women and men.
In addition, $100 Prezzy Cards were won by: Bannockburn Indoor Bowling Club (Central Otago); Pahiatua Bowling Club Inc. (Tararua); Bream Bay Bridge Club (Northland); Redcliffs Table Tennis Club Inc. (Christchurch); and Thames Branch Pony Club Inc. (Hauraki).
228 Community Sport Organisations Dissolved ...
228 of the 663 incorporated societies dissolved by the Registrar on 5 October 2023 are "community sport organisations". As the administrative burden for CSOs to re-register under the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022 and its associated regulations becomes more apparent, the dissolution rate could materially increase.
A list of CSOs dissolved CSOs on 5 October can be found here.
(There is a risk that CSO dissolutions will become increasingly frequent)
Mark Rigotti, CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors recently noted that, “regulatory burden doesn’t just impact the top end of town. Small businesses, charities and sports clubs can also be burdened, forcing them to divert resources and money away from their core business to deal with compliance work.” Rigotti says, “the challenge for governments and regulators isn’t an easy one”, observing that, “additional layers of regulatory obligations being the go-to solution on complex issues are not the answer.”
Association Visits Taranaki Region This Week ...
In partnership with Sport Taranaki, the Association will present two seminars in Taranaki this coming week on the Incorporated Societies Act 2022, in New Plymouth and Hāwera.
The New Plymouth seminar is on Wednesday 25 October, between 5.30pm and 7.30pm at Sport Taranaki’s office at Yarrow Stadium on Maratahu Street. The Hāwera seminar is on the following day, Thursday 26 October, between 5.30pm and 7.30pm in the Southern Lounge of the TSB Hub. The Association has now conducted over 20 seminars on this legislative change across 17 cities and towns throughout New Zealand.
You can register to attend the seminar in New Plymouth or Hawera, by clicking here.
“For The Love Of The Game” To Be Published ...
A new book which celebrates the sporting contribution of 100 New Zealanders will be published in coming months. “For The Love Of The Game” tells how these sportspeople contributed to the social life and well-being of their communities, and to the national pride of their country.
The book is the third published by Glenbeigh Books focusing on the history of sport in building New Zealand communities. The earlier published titles were “The Rugby Patricians” (published in 2016) and “Ghost Rugby Clubs Of Wellington” (published in 2019). Proceeds from the sale of the new book will be donated to a sporting charity.
Sportsmanship Is Getting Worse According To US Survey ...
According to the 2023 United States National Officiating Survey, 40% of US sport officials believe that parents cause the most problems with sportsmanship, with about half of those surveyed believing that coaches are responsible for improving sportsmanship. Overall, over two-thirds of those surveyed thought sportsmanship is getting worse.
Conducted during the northern hemisphere spring and summer of 2023, the National Officiating Survey was completed by more than 35,000 sports officials from all levels and all sports.
You can read more here.
From The Archives ...
PRESS, VOLUME LXXXIX, ISSUE 26962, 11 FEBRUARY 1953, PAGE 3
“The Olympic and British Empire Games Association held a reception in Wellington last evening for Mr Leigh Wood, treasurer of the British Empire Games Council for England, and Mr Harry Amos. Mr Amos was presented with the Olympic diploma awarded to him in recognition of his outstanding services to sport. The Prime Minister (Mr Holland) attended the reception.”
William Henry Neville ("Harry") Amos was born on 6 February 1875, the son of William (an accountant) and Mary Alice (nee Neville) Amos. One of four children, (he had a younger brother and two older sisters) the family lived in Kaiapoi in Canterbury.
(Harry and Thora Amos)
Harry attended Canterbury College (University) in the late 1890s studying accountancy, then pursuing teaching as a career, firstly at Timaru High School and then at Feilding Technical School (in Manawatu). He married Thora Charlotte Harris in 1904, with whom he raised a daughter, Thyra. With his wife, he established Banks Commercial College and Wellesley College (private educational institutions) in Wellington, in the early 1920’s.
A champion cyclist in his youth (he broke the New Zealand five-mile record in 1902 and he was the New Zealand amateur cycling champion from 1898 to 1903), Harry was appointed honorary secretary and handicapper of the South Canterbury Centre of the "League of New Zealand Wheelmen" in 1903.
(The New Zealand 1928 Olympic team, with Harry and Thora Amos, seated)
Appointed as Vice President of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association in 1923, Harry went on to manage the 1928 Olympic Games team to Amsterdam, with his wife Thora appointed as chaperone to the team. He was a former chairman and for many years secretary-treasurer of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. As well as managing the New Zealand team that went to Amsterdam in 1928, Harry organised teams for the subsequent Los Angeles (1932), Berlin (1936) and London (1944) Olympic Games.
Harry Amos was the only New Zealander in the Southern Hemisphere, as reported above, to receive the “Olympic Diploma of Merit”, awarded in recognition of his long and outstanding services to amateur sport. He died on 15 November 1958 at the age of 84, at the home of his daughter Thyra, in Surrey, England.
The Final Word ...
“The All Blacks played with ravenous intent and pounced on every breakdown like hungry gulls swooping on fish and chips.”
(Andy Bull at Stade de France)