Issue 49 : 23 February 2020
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.
Association Meets With Sport New Zealand ...
Last week, representatives of the Association’s Board met with members of the Sport New Zealand’s Community Sport team, for an introductory discussion in Wellington at Sport New Zealand’s Head Office. Association Chairman, Gordon Noble-Campbell, supported by Board Members David King and Tony Meachen, was invited by Sport New Zealand to provide an overview of the Association’s purpose and projects, with the goal of increasing communication between the organisations in areas relating to organised amateur sport.
(The Association was invited to meet with Sport New Zealand's Community Sport team)
Gordon Noble-Campbell, in welcoming the opportunity to build on the relationship between the two organisations, noted how they complement each other, with the Association as a voluntary, member-driven, community-funded organisation able to provide Sport New Zealand’s government-funded purpose with valuable grass-roots insights to issues of common interest.
2019 National Sport Club Survey – Final Report Released ...
The Association recently released its Final Report on the 2019 National Sport Club Survey, which has already received wide media coverage on radio, in the press and on-line. The survey also featured as part of the academic discussion at the December 2019 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference, in Christchurch. Seminars based on the survey (involving local sport organisations) have been held in Auckland and Wellington (in 2019) and will shortly be held in Christchurch and Dunedin, (as noted below).
The Association acknowledges the generous support of Dynasty Sport, Pinnacle Corporation, Expert Services and Unlimited Limited, without which the Association would not have been able to undertake the research, which is proving to be an invaluable insight to an area of New Zealand’s sporting fabric that has not previously been studied. There is growing community concern regarding the state of organised amateur sport in New Zealand and the survey is helping to identify key trends, while offering insight as to what can be done in the future to support and grow amateur sport.
You can download a copy of the report, by clicking here.
Radio : “The Pictures Are Better” ...
Connection and communication across communities is vital for the strength of amateur sports clubs, with terrestrial radio a key egalitarian medium through which this can occur on a free-to-air basis. The clubrugby.nz web-site recently published a thought-provoking article on how this quintiessential community service is under threat, suggesting that Government has a role in protecting the voice of amateur sport as part of New Zealand’s social values and culture.
(Winston McCarthy, the all-time doyen of sports radio broadcasters in New Zealand)
You can read the full article, by clicking here.
NSCS South Island Workshops Ready To Go ...
Dr. Michael Naylor, (Senior Lecturer) and Mel Johnston, (Lecturer and Researcher) from AUT’s Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand (SPRINZ) will present the findings from the 2019 National Sport Club Survey in Christchurch and Dunedin on Tuesday, 3 March.
(Nga Puna Wai Sports Hub in Halswell, Christchurch)
The Christchurch seminar (hosted by Sport Canterbury) will take place at Nga Puna Wai Sports Hub in Halswell, Christchurch at 11.00am. The Dunedin seminar (hosted by Sport Otago) will take place at the Sargood Centre on Logan Park Drive at 7.00pm.
(Dunedin's Sargood Centre, at Logan Park)
$300,000 Available For Community Projects In Hutt Mana ...
In the Hutt Mana region, Hutt Mana Charitable Trust wants to hear from charitable, philanthropic, amateur sport, cultural or community organisations that need a funding boost. Applications open on Sunday 1 March for $300,000 of funding to support community initiatives, including amateur sport. Last year the Trust supported more than 260 groups through its two funding rounds.
Legislation Against The Harassment Of Sports Officials ...
A recent survey undertaken in the United States has revealed that 43 percent of sports officials quit within their first three years of officiating, mainly because they don't want to put up with the abuse they receive from the side-lines. 57 percent of sport officials in the United States believe sportsmanship is getting worse, and they identify parents, coaches and fans as the cause of most sportsmanship issues.
In response, the State of Wisconsin is proposing to pass legislation in 2020 which will make it a crime if someone “commits harassment against a referee, umpire, judge, or person performing similar functions and the harassment is in response to, or intended to influence, an action by the sports official”. As a “Class A” misdemeanour, “the court may impose up to 40 hours of community service work and may require that the [offender] participate in counselling, including anger management or abusive behaviour intervention”.
With a 2015 survey reporting that 53 per cent of people saying they saw constant and aggressive shouting from New Zealand side-lines, similar legislation in this country could have an immediate impact on improving attitudes toward sport officials at Kiwi sport events.
Association Web-Site Updated ...
A reminder that the Association's web-site (www.asa.org.nz), is a handy reference point for all news and information relevant to the Association's activities. The web-site provides the necessary forms to apply for membership or to register for the e-zine, as well as maintaining a helpful calendar of upcoming Association events and news.
From The Archives ...
COUNTRY NEWS
OTAGO DAILY TIMES, ISSUE 22873, 6 MAY 1936
“The annual general meeting of the Arowhenua Ladies' Sports Club was presided over by Mrs B. Solomon. Officers elected were: Patrons, Mr Eruera T. Tirikatene, M.P., and Mr Thomas D. Burnett, M.P.; president, Mrs W. Mihaka; vice-president, Miss A. Hopkinson; secretary, Mrs P. Gillum; treasurer, Mrs Pani Torepe; trustees, the president and treasurer; committee - Mesdames B. Leonard. J. Leonard, M. Kemara, Miss A. Mamaru; club coach, Mr K. Rehu; club captain, Miss A. Mamaru.”
Based at the Arowhenua Pa in South Canterbury (between the junction of the Temuka and Opihi Rivers, 2 kilometres south of Temuka), the Arowhenua Maori Sports Club was first formed in 1921. The Arowhenua Ladies’ Sports Club (formed in 1932) was one of New Zealand’s earliest sporting bodies formed devoted to the promotion of women’s sport.
Arowhenua was the South Island centre of the Ratana movement, with Eruera Tirakatene (Tregerthen) marrying into the Solomon family who were prominent supporters of local sport. Pani Torepe, with her husband Wiremu (who died in 1931) and family, lived in Temuka at their home "Whare Marama", and were respected leaders of the Arowhenua sporting community.
Basketball (netball) was the main sport promoted by the ladies club, with the Club’s President, Pani Torepe presenting a cup in 1934, known as the “Torepe Cup”, for annual competition in the Temuka Sub-Association between the winners and the runners-up of the grade in which the Club competed. At the South Island Maori Championships in 1939 for the Pitama Cup (first awarded two years earlier), Arowhenua (the hosts) finished last out of the five competing teams.
The Final Word ...
“Cooperation begins, where competition leaves off.”
(Franklin D. Roosevelt)