Issue 19 : 25 November 2018
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. We hope you enjoy reading the articles below.
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.
If you are interested in applying for membership of the Association, please click here.
National Amateur Sports Club Survey Update ...
The full itinerary for next month’s seminars has now been confirmed, as noted below.
Tuesday, 11 December
1200 : Sudima Airport Hotel, 550 Memorial Ave, Christchurch Airport, Christchurch
1700 : The Dunedin Centre, 1 Harrop St, Dunedin
Wednesday, 12 December
1730 : Wellesley Boutique Hotel, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington
Monday, 17 December
1200 : Novotel Hamilton Tainui, 7 Alma St, Hamilton
1730 : Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre, 58 Waipuna Rd, Mount Wellington, Auckland
If you are interested in attending any of the above seminars (and if you have not already registered your attendance), you can register by clicking here.
Te Taitokerau Māori Sports Awards - Service To Sport Award ...
“Respect for others” is a key goal of the Kaeo Boxing Club in coaching Northland’s youth, according to Club legend Rusty Porter who received the “Service to Sport” award at the recent Te Taitokerau Māori Sports Awards. Porter, who has been involved the Kaeo Boxing Club in the small Northland town north-west of KeriKeri for nearly 30 years, has been an active boxing trainer guiding many amateur and professional boxers to multiple titles.
Rusty says that the sport of boxing "teaches resilience" and "creates character" in young people, in a region where many have little access to sporting resources and often come from low income households. Money is a big challenge in providing access to sport in the Kaeo community, with the Club receiving no funding from regional or national sporting bodies. Looking ahead, Porter says future success will rely on local Clubs banding together and sharing resources.
(Rusty Porter, recognised for sporting service to the community)
Helping to create “decent human beings, having respect for everyone”, is Rusty’s overall goal through the intensive training (as well as the winning and losing) which is part of Boxing. He emphasises that his life-time involvement is totally “for the love of the sport”. The Association congratulates Rusty Porter on his award for service to the Northland community.
Mental Health A Growing Concern For Sporting Youth ...
A new report from the New York Times highlights the psychological risks associated with fast-tracking youth to careers in professional sport. In the United States, “the Times” reports that young athletes now face more stress (contributing to mental illness), than ever before.
According to Timothy Neal, the director of athletic training education at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States (and a nationally recognised expert on mental health and college sports), this is due to “performance and parental pressure, social media, more games on TV, more players who think they can go to the pros”.
(Timothy Neal from Concordia University in Michigan, highlights the pressure on youth)
The article tells the story of NFL player Isaiah Woods and his struggle to deal with the pressure of expectation, following his rapid rise through the ranks of the National Football League (NFL).
You can read the full story here.
Sport Is Not Just About “Millionaires In Shorts” ...
Sport is not only about “millionaires in shorts”, or “future champions”, according to vocal critics of the French government’s recent announcement that the Ministry of Sport is to cut €30 million from its budget. Among others, the move has been roundly condemned by sports economist Pierre Rondeau, who says it will “destroy the fabric of amateur sport” in France.
(Pierre Rondeau is critical of moves to cut amateur sport funding in France)
Rondeau noted that “today, many amateur clubs are sounding the alarm, saying that they will not be able to balance their accounts because donations and contracts are dropping. How will we be able to fund these amateur clubs? We will have to raise prices. People will have to pay €200, €300 or €400 just to play football.” Rondeau said that sport for all, is a marker of social mobility, well-being, and community, a sentiment that this Association fully endorses.
Rondeau explains the importance of amateur sport in relation to professional funding by referring to the experience of countries like Britain. In 1996, Great Britain finished 35th on the Medal Table at the Atlanta Olympic Games, influencing the Government to directly finance sporting excellence. “Today, Great Britain is 3rd or 4th in the Olympic rankings, but in deprived areas of the UK, more than 50% of kids do not know how to ride a bike or swim. The obesity levels in these areas is high and sports practice has practically disappeared”, says Rondeau.
The Ministry of Sport said the changes would affect 1,600 jobs in the sector by 2022.
Viewpoint : “The Futile Recruitment Of Infants” ...
In England, children of 14 years of age are able to enter into Scholarship Agreements with Premier League football clubs, with a professional contract (to take effect at the age of 17), able to be offered once a child is 15 years of age.
The words “child” and “children” are deliberately used here, to emphasise that the responsibility for these decisions squarely lie with the parent(s) or guardian(s) who holds significant emotional influence over, as well as pastoral responsibility for, the minors in their care.
The factors driving the increased contracting of minors today may well have similarities to those of the 1750’s, where the motivation was less to do with the intellectual, social and emotional development of the child, relative to the economic benefit that was likely to accrue to the wider family group through the income children were able to earn from their physical activity. Then, as now, the risk of not receiving an adequate academic education is the greatest threat to well-being in adulthood. In this regard, the issue is not that sport can be a highly profitable career, it's just that so few can actually achieve that goal.
In the UK, only a minority of boys awarded "scholarships" remain in the professional game of football at the age of 21. In his book “Every Boys Dream”, author Chris Green who coined the phrase “the futile recruitment of infants”, chronicles “the disappointment, educational underachievement, even trauma, suffered by some boys who give much of their childhoods to academies only to suffer inevitable rejection”.
This Association is certain that all sport administrators in New Zealand will agree that the needs of children must always come before the needs of sports' corporate shareholders.
New Zealand - A Nation Of Sport Watchers ...
Richard Beddie, Chief Executive of Exercise NZ, suggests that it is a myth that New Zealand is a “sporting nation”, rather he says, we are a nation of “sport watchers”. Speaking on Radio New Zealand’s Sunday Morning programme, Beddie said that only half of New Zealanders exercised on a regular basis, preferring to watch others participate in organised sport.
You can listen to the podcast of Beddie talk about the Exercise Industry Awards held on Saturday night in Auckland (and other exercise trends), by clicking here.
From The Archives ...
DEATH OF MR HENRY ROSE
OTAGO DAILY TIMES, ISSUE 10382, 10 JUNE 1895
“We regret to have to announce the death of Mr Henry Rose, which took place about 7 o'clock yesterday morning at his residence, Carisbrook. With athletic sports in Otago the name of Henry Rose will always be associated. On his arrival in Dunedin he became a prominent player both of cricket and football, and represented the province frequently in both games."
"He was a member of the first Otago interprovincial football team. He was a founder and always a strong supporter of the Carisbrook Cricket Club, and might be called the founder of the ground company, to which he has given the greatest assistance. The Carisbrook Lawn Tennis Club also owed its origin to him, and he was a keen and ardent golf player. He was also one of the first members of the Otago Rowing Club."
"There was no form of outdoor sport to which he did not give support and valuable assistance, and it would be difficult to name a man who has done more for athletics in Otago than he has.”
(The Otago Inter-Provincial Football Team Of 1875 : Clifford & Morris, Dunedin)
Henry Rose was the Managing Director and Honorary Secretary of the Carisbrook Ground Company (CGC) which he formed in 1882 to create a new cricket ground on land in South Dunedin, with the Otago Cricketers Association becoming a foundation tenant. The ground became known as his “pet citadel”, but the company failed to turn a profit, being in competition for the support of cricket and football with the nearby Caledonian Sports Ground.
(The now extinct "Carisbrook" in 1977, during the 3rd Test against the British Lions)
In May 1889, the Dunedin Amateur Ground Company Limited issued a prospectus to acquire the assets of the CGC for 900 pounds. It was noted that the new company’s promoters (who included Henry Rose) were “actuated more by commendable public spirit than by any wish to make a profit out of their shares”.
The ground was used by the Otago Rugby Football Union, Otago Cricket Association, Carisbrook Cricket Club, Otago Boys High School Association, Otago Centre New Zealand Athletic Association (and at one time, the Dunedin Cycling Club). The Company folded in 1907, following its sale of the ground and facilities to the Otago Rugby Football Union.
Rose died from sudden illness at the young age of 41, leaving a wife and five young children.
The Final Word ...
“Doing nothing for others, is the undoing of ourselves.”
(Horace Mann - United States Congressman)