Issue 96 : 12 December 2021

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 2017. This is the final issue for 2021, with the next issue to be published in January 2022.



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.


The Year In Review – Chairman’s Reflection ...

As 2021 approaches its conclusion, I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who has helped the Association in the pursuit of its strategic goals over the year. It has been a particularly active and challenging year for the Association, as we’ve worked with our partners at AUT to deliver the fourth annual National Sport Club Survey (NSCS), considered the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and its impact on community sport, while also seeking to influence the final form of tthe Incorporated Societies Bill which has progressed through Parliament this year.



As we approach New Zealand’s traditional festive season, the importance of community and togetherness has been emphasised by the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, which has cast a long shadow across the country and it’s physical and mental well-being. Sport, in all its dimensions, is one of the foundations of resilient communities. Not only through participants on-field, but in particular through all those who “make sport happen”, through their local community clubs. I would like to acknowledge all those who see the benefit of organised amateur sport to their whanau and who contribute willingly to the volunteer organisations which provide it. 



The Association is an apolitical voice which advocates on your behalf, as well as generating insights which can assist you in ensuring that your local club continues to be the heart-beat of community sport, while also working to ensure that organised amateur sport is seen by everyone as essential to the social, mental and physical well-being of all New Zealanders.



On behalf of the Board, I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season and a healthy and successful start to 2022. Thank you for your interest in and ongoing support of the Association.

Gordon Noble-Campbell, Chairman, New Zealand Amateur Sport Association Inc.


Board Appoints Strategy Leads ...

As regular readers of this newsletter will be aware, the Association’s strategic pillars are: "amateur advocacy"; "community engagement" and "thought leadership". Following the Board’s November meeting, leaders of these focus areas have been confirmed for the New Year.



Cushla Tangaere-Manuel (pictured below) has accepted the role of convenor and spokesperson in relation to “amateur advocacy”. As a current member of the New Zealand Maori Rugby Board Inc., and through her leadership roles with Ngati Porou East Coast Rugby, Cushla has a deep understanding of the challenges, issues and opportunities facing community sport organisations throughout New Zealand..


 


Ray Tuffin (pictured below) has accepted the role of convenor and spokesperson for “community engagement”. Ray is passionate about sport's role in creating both mental and physical well-being, with a specific interest in overcoming the obstacles created by poverty and inequality, which act as barriers to participation.



Finally, Gordon Noble-Campbell retains Board governance responsibility in respect of “thought leadership”, given his foundation role in establishing the Association's research partnership with AUT and the National Sport Club Survey's co-Project Leads, Michael Naylor and Mel Johnston.


Staying Safe While Staying Together ...

The Centre for Sport and Social Impact at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia has recently published a study which identified the challenges adult community sport participants anticipated when returning to sport post a COVID-19 shutdown.



Overall, “participants perceived paradoxical challenges to returning to sport, which revolved around staying safe, staying connected and accessing meaningful sport activities."

In particular, the study noted that, “understanding and addressing the concerns of participants is crucial in helping people return to sport. If insufficient numbers return, not only will it be detrimental to people’s physical and mental health, it could also jeopardise the traditional sport competition structure and impact the sustainability of community sport. This impact could also extend to the volunteering workforce who are the backbone of community sport club operations.”



You can read the full study, by clicking here.


Sport Waitakere Hosts NSCS Virtual Workshop ...

At Sport Waitakere’s final West Auckland Club Leaders Forum for 2021 on Tuesday last week, insights from the 2021 National Sport Club Survey (NSCS) were discussed, including high level club metrics; regional insights covering North, Central/East, West and South Auckland; female friendly environments; and female chairs. Insights were presented by Michael Naylor, Mel Johnston and Kathryn Hosking, with the workshop hosted by Sport Waitakere’s Community Coach and Club Lead Mick Coultard, with the support of Javeed Ali and David George.


(Sport Waitakere, which supports sport in West Auckland, is a member of the Association)


The Forum was the sole opportunity for the NSCS Project Team to present a regional workshop this year, owing to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings. Reflecting on the workshop, Mick Coultard said, “when data is in front of people it takes away the assumption and opens great opportunities for exploration.” The NSCS Project Team looks forward to presenting further insights from the 2021 survey early in the New Year.

You can download the slides from the workshop, by clicking here.


Sport New Zealand Provides My Vaccine Pass Guidelines ...

Businesses, event organisers, and organisations (such as sport clubs) can choose to legally require visitors or customers, participants and supporters to show evidence that they have received two COVID-19 vaccinations through "My Vaccine Pass". Sport New Zealand has provided its guidance in this regard, which can be found here.



Upper Hutt City Keeps Facilities Open To All ...

As one example of how local authorities are responding to central government’s COVID-19 Public Health Response (COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate) Order 2021, Upper Hutt City Council has decided that it does not require vaccine passes to be shown at most of its public facilities. “There were two key factors that drove our thinking” says Upper Hutt City Council’s Chief Executive, Peter Kelly. “The accessibility and equity considerations for all of the community, and the vaccination coverage within our community and the rest of the region.”


(Upper Hutt City Council, with a population approaching 50,000 is a member of the Association)


Public spaces like the city’s parks and playgrounds have no vaccine pass requirements, but the Council is encouraging its residents and visitors to follow public health guidelines. Sporting and club events will follow the guidelines put in place by organisers like Sport New Zealand. A review will take place on 17 December, with another planned for January.


(Maidstone Park in Upper Hutt City is a popular community sport venue)


From The Archives ...

SPORTSMAN OF THE WEEK

PRESS, VOLUME LXXXVIII, ISSUE 26627, 12 JANUARY 1952, PAGE 3

ORTVIN SARAPU

“Chess players, as well as followers of more athletic sports, may object to the classification of chess as a sport; but if it is agreed that one of the essentials of a sport is a test of skill, there can be no doubt of the claims of chess for inclusion on this ground. If chess is a sport, it occupies a unique position in the sporting world: there is no distinction between professionals and amateurs; chess, more than any other sport, demands constant reading and study of the aspiring player; and players of all ages from 15 to 75 can compete on equal terms.

The leading chess player in New Zealand at present is Ortvin Sarapu, an Estonian, a player of international standing. Sarapu has not devoted all his leisure to playing and studying chess, for he is a competent performer in several other sports. As a jumper he has cleared his own height - 5ft 6in - and has competed in other field events. Last season he was a member of the Rex A grade basketball team, an achievement for a man of his height. In Estonia he was a keen skier and took part in the national championships.”


(Ortvin Sarapu, standing, at the 1960 Pacific Zone Chess Championships)


Ortvin Sarapu (known in New Zealand as “Mr Chess”), was born on 21 January 1924 in Narva, Estonia. He learned the game of chess at the age of eight and in a few years progressed from being champion of his school to becoming junior champion of Estonia. Sarapu’s European record also included the Danish championship and the “lightning championship” of Copenhagen.

On winning a displaced persons' tournament (following World War 2) he was invited to play in a major tournament in Germany in 1949. In this event he was placed fourth, the field including some of the world's leading players, including New Zealand’s Robert Wade who suggested Sarapu emigrate to New Zealand. Sarapu emigrated to New Zealand with his wife Ursula Lotte Maria Barbara (nee Bialonczyk) in 1950 and they were both naturalised in 1955.


(Ortivin Sarapu was New Zealand’s second chess “International Master”)


Sarapu won or shared the New Zealand Chess Championship 20 times from 1952 to 1990. FIDE (the International Chess Federation) awarded Sarapu the “International Master” title in 1966. Though he had to work as an upholsterer to earn a living, he represented New Zealand at ten Chess Olympiads. He was an exponent of “simultaneous chess” where he would play a number of games simultaneously against different opponents. As photographed below, in 1960 he played 38 different opponents simultaneously at the Canterbury Chess Club, winning 30 matches, losing 3, with 5 matches resulting in a draw.


(Sarapu was an exponent of “simultaneous chess”, defeating multiple opponents at a time)


In the 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sarapu was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for "services to chess". A sporting all-rounder, Ortvin Sarapu died in 1999 at the age of 75. He has a memorial in the Manukau Memorial Gardens, in Auckland.

Editor's Note: This past week, Magnus Carlsen (Norway) retained the chess world championship, winning an 11 match series against Ian Nepomniachtch (Russia).


The Final Word …

“Ngā Mihi O Te Kirihimete Me Te Tau Hou.”


© New Zealand Amateur Sport Association Inc. (2669211), 2017

Registered Office, Level 1, 57 Willis Street, Wellington, 6011

P O Box 582, Wellington, 6140


If you no longer wish to receive these emails please click here to unsubscribe.