Issue 141 : 5 November 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.
Kelburn Croquet Club Celebrates 110 Year Anniversary ...
When the “Kelburne” (now Kelburn) Croquet Club was formed in 1913, following a lease granted by the Council on Wellington City’s Town Belt near Victoria College (as Wellington's university was then known), there was an impression that the club was only open to female members, until they made it known, “that gentlemen as well as ladies are eligible to join”.
(The Kelburn Municipal Croquet Club Committee,1923-24)
Over the past 110 years, many of the club’s members have participated at regional, national and international levels and the club has hosted international tournaments, the most recent being 2018 Association Croquet World Championships. This year, four of the club’s members competed in the Women’s AC World Championship in Christchurch.
(The Kelburn Croquet Club is located on Wellington's Town Belt)
During the Second World War “the Pavilion” (clubhouse) on Salamanca Road became the headquarters for an anti-aircraft battery set up in the trees at the eastern edge of Kelburn Park. Club play continued throughout the army occupation, with soldiers invited to play croquet after 5.00pm on Thursday evenings.
(110 years following its formation, the Kelburn Croquet Club continues to flourish)
The club was established by volunteers and its continued existence depends on the tireless contribution of volunteers, with this year’s anniversary being celebrated as part of the 2023 "Wellington Heritage Festival". The Association congratulates the club on its ongoing contribution to the sporting and social fabric of Wellington city.
Taranaki Seminars Echo National Concerns ...
On 25 and 26 October, the Association presented seminars on the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 in New Plymouth and Hawera at the invitation of Sport Taranaki. Attendees echoed the concerns of community sportspeople throughout New Zealand that the new law did not sufficiently distinguish between large, professional incorporations and small, volunteer-led incorporations, in terms of overall compliance obligations.
(Over 60 community sport organisations attended recent seminars in Taranaki)
While the seminars were attended by the representatives of many community sport organisations throughout the region, there is an ongoing concern that many others (perhaps a majority of incorporated clubs) that are not aware of (and do not understand) their obligations in transitioning to the new law.
Urgent Message Delivered To Incoming Government ...
The Association has contacted Christopher Luxon, David Seymour, Winston Peters (and their deputy leaders) alerting them to the risk of "an extinction event" for incorporated community sport organisations (ICSOs) throughout New Zealand. Unlike like the extinctions that have occurred in nature where it’s not until “after the event” that there is a sudden realisation of what has been lost forever, the warning signs today provide advance notice of a looming crisis, which is of great concern to community sport volunteers throughout the country.
(“The morning was hardly propitious; When sailors discovered Mauritius; They killed off the lot; Stewed them up in a pot; And pronounced them extinct, but delicious.”)
In doing so, we’ve requested that the new Government undertakes an urgent review of the legislation and regulations as they apply to ICSOs, emphasising that ICSOs provide important social glue, binding people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and sporting interests, as well as ensuring that community sporting assets have legal protection and that volunteers have limited legal liabilities in serving their communities.
Association To Meet With Local Government New Zealand ...
This month, the Association will have an inaugural meeting with Local Government New Zealand as part of its "community engagement strategy", focusing on insights gained from the 2022 National Sport Club Survey which reflect widespread community concern over the relationship between municipal authorities and local community sport organisations in their regions.
(The Association will meet with LGNZ on 15 November, in Wellington)
By creating awareness of the issues which directly impact on participation numbers across all sporting codes nationally, the Association hopes to engage with Local Government New Zealand in positive and forward-looking discussion on how, in particular, the financial barriers to use of community-owned facilities can be lifted.
(How LGNZ describes its role in supporting and representing local government)
NSCS Workshops In Invercargill & Wellington ...
On 14 and 15 November respectively, National Sport Club Survey seminars will be presented in Invercargill (hosted by Active Southland) and in Wellington (hosted by Nuku Ora, otherwise known as Sport Wellington). Registration details can be found here.
(Contact the Association if you would like to arrange a workshop in your region)
The workshops will be presented by Dr Michael Naylor and Dr Mel Johnston from AUT's Sports Performance Research Institute (SPRINZ) and are free to attend. A reminder that the National Sport Club Survey website, www.nscs.org.nz is now available online and is an excellent resource for all who are interested in this important national project.
Incorporated Societies Act 2022 Seminars In Manawatu & Horowhenua ...
This coming week, the Association will be in Palmerston North and Levin to present the latest in its series of seminars on the implications of the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 for incorporated community sport organistions (ICSOs).
(Contact the Association if you would like to arrange a seminar in your region)
The seminar series has now covered 18 towns and cities across New Zealand, with 22 seminars presented to community sportspeople interested in (and concerned by) the legislative change. Details on the upcoming seminars, are below.
From The Archives ...
"NOT MUCH LOVE"
ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, VOLUME 54, ISSUE 308, 10 OCTOBER 1934, PAGE 6
"They don't seem to love us very much," said the president of the Otago Cricket Association (Mr J. M. Fraser), when consideration was given to a proposal that the authorities in Australia might help New Zealand cricket by sending a State team to the Dominion each year.
"My experience," he continued, "is that Australians don't take much notice of us. While they may talk to us for five minutes, they don't seem to be interested in us any more after that. That seems to be the Australian state of mind.”
John Myers Fraser was born at West Taieri, Otago in 1882, the son (and eldest of seven children) of Thomas Campbell and Elizabeth (nee Myers) Fraser. John’s father was the master of the Woodside school in West Taieri.
Completing his education at Otago Boys’ High School, John began his business career with the South British Insurance Company, and later he joined Messrs Donald Reid and Co., with whom he served as a salesman until, in 1911, he established the firm of Messrs J. M. Fraser and Co., grain and produce merchants.
(John Myers Fraser, a man of tolerance, tact and vision)
John had a great love for the game of cricket, which he first took up as a member of the North Taieri Club. At that time, he and his younger brother Thomas laid a wicket down on their family property, and he later he joined the Carisbrook Club in Dunedin, with which he was associated for a period of about 35 years.
In the administrative side of cricket his efforts did much to grow the game in Otago and to revive interest, and he was particularly active as chairman of the Coaching Committee of the Otago Association for many years. As its President also over a long period he saw the standard of the game raised considerably, while at the same time finances improved and interest increased.
His services to the game were recognised when he was elected President of the New Zealand Cricket Council, a position he held from 1933 to 1935.
(John Fraser, left, presents the Wright, Stephenson Perpetual Challenge Cup in 1939)
John was also a keen rugby footballer, joining Dunedin’s Pirates Club in 1903, as a player and also as Treasurer for the club. He also became a rugby referee for the Otago Association, officiating a match in 1911 where Stuart Cable Robertson of the Zingari club suffered a fatal injury. The Coroner’s report somewhat intriguingly noted that, “after the deceased had been rubbed, he got up and resumed play”.
In his younger days at Mosgiel he was a member of Ernest Davis’s boxing class, a pupil of which at the same time was the famous Dave Smith, afterwards heavy-weight champion of Australia. John Fraser found time to play both lawn tennis and golf, and, after taking an active part in the formation of the Dunedin Squash Rackets Club, he was made President on its inception in 1936 and had held the position until his death.
His tolerance, tact, and vision made him an outstanding sport administrator.
In 1912, he married Agnes May Stevenson with whom he raised two daughters (Isabel and Mary), and a son Thomas, who became a New Zealand representative cricketer.
John Fraser collapsed while walking uphill in Newington Avenue, Maori Hill, Dunedin shortly after he had left his home in Royal Terrace, in April 1940, apparently in good health.
The Final Word ...
“The more we have sports clubs in operation, the better it is for society.”
(Amanda Spencer, Jobstown Boxing Club, Dublin)