Issue 144 : 17 December 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.
This is the final Association newsletter for 2023, with the first newsletter of the New Year to be published on Sunday, 28 January 2024. The Association’s Board would like to wish all readers a safe and happy festive season with family and friends. We look forward to continuing our work on behalf of New Zealand’s amateur sport communities in the coming year.
Association Meets With New Minister for Sport and Recreation ...
Last week, the Association’s Chair had the opportunity to meet with the new Minister for Sport and Recreation, the Hon. Chris Bishop, in the Minister’s office at Wellington’s Beehive. The purpose of the meeting was to express the urgent need for a full review of the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 (and associated Regulations) in terms of the impact on community sport.
(Gordon Noble-Campbell and the Hon. Chris Bishop met in Wellington)
In the meeting, a number of recommendations were presented by the Association for further discussion by Government, (discussed in the article below) with the goal of alleviating much of the cost and compliance burden imposed by the new law on incorporated community sport organisations. To be able to meet with the Minister and share the Association’s concerns underscored the establishment of a new and important relationship between the Association and the new Government, which we look forward to developing further in the New Year.
Our Manifesto On Legislative Change For Community Sport ...
The Association has presented seven representative recommendations to the new Government, including changes to amend (rather than replace) the existing law and regulations.
(We recommend changes to improve the Act and Regulations for ICSOs)
In summary, the recommendations are: (i) to make “small society” a defined term under s. 5 of the Act; (ii) amend s. 102 (2) (b) of the Act; (iii) amend s. 103 (2) (b) of the Act; (iv) apply the new definition of "small society" to various subparts of the Act, with the objective of minimising the ongoing compliance obligations for volunteer-led, not-for-profit incorporated societies, to ensure a society’s obligations are commensurate with the level of risk that its activities pose to the community; (v) make other important ad-hoc and consequential amendments to the 270 sections of the Act which will be required to give full effect to the intent of the Association’s recommendations; (vi) extend the re-registration period by a further two years, to apply no later than 1 April 2028; and (vii) enable a small society to apply for and receive paid-for support services from approved legal and accountancy service providers in its local region, authorised (and funded) by the Companies Office.
(Fixing the legislation will create a "fit for purpose" solution for everyone)
If you would like further information concerning these recommendations and how they will benefit incorporated community sport organisations, please do not hesitate to contact us.
2023 – A Year Of Change, Challenge & Achievement ...
In 2023, the Association successfully progressed a full agenda based on its three strategic pillars of "amateur advocacy", "thought leadership" and "community engagement", in an environment of heightened financial challenges for families and community sport generally. Members and supporters of the Association can be pleased with the role we have played in focusing the attention of policymakers, funders and resource providers on the needs of New Zealand’s community sportspeople.
(The Association presented ten seminars on legislative change across New Zealand)
Our advocacy for a fairer regime for incorporated community sport organisations, forced MBIE to back-track on its decision not to permit public consultation on the Incorporated Societies Regulations and over the course of the year, the Association presented ten further informative seminars for community sportspeople in the Taranaki, Manawatu, Horowhenua Kapiti, Canterbury, Otago and Southland regions.
(The NSCS Project Team presented five regional workshops in 2023)
In partnership with AUT, as thought leaders in the sport sector, we undertook the sixth annual National Sport Club Survey, revealing a range of important insights in respect of disability sport, sport integrity, casualisation of sport participation and the link between community clubs and local high schools. Workshops in 2023 were held in Albany (Auckland), Wellington, Christchurch, Timaru and Invercargill, providing local community clubs with an opportunity share in the insights generated from the 2022 and 2023 surveys.
Our focus on engaging with our national sport communities saw the Association present two free seminars on income tax obligations for community sport obligations in partnership with FINDEX and we also established a new connection with Local Government New Zealand in response to community sport feedback on the quality of their relationships with local authorities.
We look forward to continuing our work in each of these three strategic areas in 2024 and welcome the interest and support of all who share our goals for amateur sport in New Zealand.
Marist Saints Rugby League Dissolved, Then Clubrooms Destroyed ...
The Marist Rugby League Football Club Auckland Inc., based at Murray Halberg Park in Mount Albert (known as the “Marist Saints”) was dissolved by the Registrar of Incorporated Societies on 3 April this year, seven months before the club was engulfed by fire in what police are (it has been reported) treating as arson.
The Marist Saints clubrooms were destroyed by fire in November)
At the time of its dissolution, the club had last filed accounts for the fiscal year ended 2019. What the subsequent disastrous destruction means for the club in its dissolved state is currently unknown. The club held its Annual General Meeting last weekend, which will have provided an opportunity for the club's members to confirm their intentions for the club’s future.
The club when first formed in 1919 was known as the Marist Brothers Old Boys Rugby League Club, with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Dr. D W Cleary, its patron. C. McDevitt was the team captain. At the time, there were eight senior clubs playing in the Auckland competition, with sixty-three teams playing “the northern game” that year in the Auckland region.
International Volunteer Day 2023 ...
Established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1985, "International Volunteer Day" (IVD) is an annual event observed on December 5th. The central message of the 2023 theme was, “if everyone volunteered, the world would be a better place.”
A 2020 survey of 8,131 volunteers from 642 sports clubs in ten European countries undertaken by the University of Sheffield in England, found that the most important determinants of satisfaction are the "conditions of volunteering" (recognition, support, leadership and material incentives) and the "workload of volunteers". Club characteristics, size or having paid staff, were not found to be significant determinants of volunteer satisfaction.
(Board members generally have a higher workload than other ICSO volunteers)
Of note to New Zealand club volunteers, given the increased obligations to sport volunteers under the new Incorporated Societies Act, the research found that volunteers with a fairly high workload of more than 300 hours per year/season are less satisfied than those who have a lower voluntary workload, with club board members identified as having the highest club workloads, alongside coaches. You can read the full study, by clicking here.
Viewpoint : Has Sports’ Crown Agency Has Lost Its Way? ...
In a recent interview with Radio New Zealand, Sport New Zealand said the crown agency did not have a direct role in supporting community sports clubs, stating "our role is to engage with the National Sports Organisations.” The Association notes that the crown agency’s statutory obligations require support to be provided at “local levels” to local “sport organisations” to “ensure the maintenance” of community sport’s “organisational infrastructure.”
(Not all CSOs belong to a NSO, and many are not incorporated)
We would like to remind Sport New Zealand that not all community sport clubs are members of a national sport organisation and that others which are incorporated have their own independent legal identities, separate to that of a national sport organisation, (even if affiliated). Moreover, there are many sport clubs operating in an unincorporated state which should be encouraged to gain incorporated status to protect their members and communities.
(Are we doing enough to preserve the role of clubs in delivering sport?)
We encourage Sport New Zealand to join us in advocating for the new Government to undertake a statutory review of the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 to ensure it (and its associated regulations) are fit for purpose in maintaining the organisational infrastructure for community sport in New Zealand. You can read more here.
From The Archives ...
POLITICS AND POLO
NZ TRUTH, ISSUE 1272, 17 APRIL 1930, PAGE 6
“On entering the office of H. G. Livingstone, Christchurch auctioneer and estate agent, the first object one sees is a photograph of the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates and another of Livingstone himself in polo costume. In these two photographs are depicted the main interests of the man.
That of Mr. Coates represents the Reform Political Party, in the control of which Henry Livingstone plays a big part; the other of himself shows that he is a prominent polo player of the Christchurch "B" team.”
Henry Gillies Livingstone, also known as "Harry Livingstone,” “H.G.” or “Major Livingstone” was born in Timaru in 1890, the son of Thomas and Mary Ann Livingstone. Educated at the Otago Boys’ High School, he began farming on his own account in 1909 and six years later began his lifelong interest in the Army when he joined the New Zealand Defence Staff as adjutant of the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry, where his prowess as a horseman was honed.
(Harry Livingstone, left, was a champion polo player, from Canterbury)
As a result, polo was Harry’s sport, and he was a member of the Christchurch Polo Club, assisting the club as a committee member and as secretary. He was one of the team which won the New Zealand junior championship in 1928 and of the team which won the Gould Cup in 1928 and again in 1929, and of the Tahu Cup winning team in 1928. In politics, he was one of the men who laid the foundations for the National Party to take power in 1949. He was president of the New Zealand Political Reform Party’s Canterbury division, and when the National Party came into being, he was one of its architects.
(Henry, Henry junior, Lydia and Robert Livingstone of Christchurch)
He married Lydia Rachel North in 1914 (made a MBE in 1953 for services to social welfare), with whom he raised two sons, (Robert and Henry). In 1919, he founded the firm of H. G. Livingstone and Company, and although he had had no previous experience as an auctioneer and land agent, he soon made his mark on the business community. He served for a term as a member of the New Zealand Broadcasting Board.
Henry Livingstone’s many services to sport and the community were recognised in 1950 by the award of the OBE in the Queen's Birthday honours. He died in Christchurch on 12 February 1959, at the age of 68 years and is buried in Christchurch’s Waimairi cemetery.
The Final Word ...
“I always enjoyed playing rugby more than photographing it."
(Peter Bush, CNZM QSM : RIP : 16 December 2023)
