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In the current period of mandatory and complex constitutional change, which is affecting all incorporated community sport organisations (ICSOs), there is a risk that the scope of national sport organisations (NSOs) extends beyond the rules pertaining to the administration and playing of their game, to prescribing how ICSOs operate as independent, fully functional, legal entities.

Rather than directing ICSOs as to how they should constitute themselves (on the basis that to do otherwise will be too expensive and complicated for an ICSO to manage), NSOs should instead be consulting with, educating and (where necessary) providing third party expert professional advice to them, on how to ensure their unique operating characteristics are preserved, for the benefit of their local communities.

The Association recently finalised and provided its feedback to the Integrity Commission, on the Exposure Draft (Version 1.2) of the "Code of Integrity for Sport and Recreation". New Zealand's community sportspeople had six weeks to review the draft and provide feedback by 1 November 2024. (The Integrity Commission was created under Part 2, s. 8, of the Integrity Sport and Recreation Act 2023).

In providing its submission to the Commission, the Association approached its review of the draft Integrity Code on a top-down, principles-basis, with four specific draft Integrity Code amendments and one specific legislative amendment arising, for the Commission’s (and Government’s) consideration.

As admirable as the purpose of the "Integrity Sport and Recreation Act 2023" is, (i.e., to “enhance integrity within sport and physical recreation to protect and promote the safety and well-being of participants and the fairness of competition”), little consideration appears to have been given (to date) of the downstream compliance implications and obligations for incorporated community sport organisations (ICSOs), operated by volunteers. 

There is an undisclosed risk that the imposition of further compliance obligations will add to the deterrence effect of increased regulation, further reducing the number of ICSO volunteers nationally. Our national sport community (and our politicians) need to openly engage in more discussion, to avoid further unintended consequences for ICSOs.

Sport professionals are physically conditioned and mentally toughened to play contact sport at higher levels of intensity than those who take part “for the love of the game.” As part of contracting (for financial reward),  professionals agree to perform at heightened and sustained levels of physical stress, in order to deliver an entertaining spectacle for the crowd.

Where sports actively promote community participation with demonstrations of elite performance, there is an increased likelihood that some “weekend warriors” will seek to emulate that performance on community sportsgrounds, potentially placing themselves (and others) at increased risk of accidental physical harm.

The 130-year-old taboo on money prizes for Olympic athletes was broken by World Athletics this past week, definitively ending Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s vision of an enduring “quadrennial meeting of amateur champions of all nations”. To be "financially viable" is the new vision.

Money and the Olympics joined hands a long time ago, with broadcasting rights for the event and sponsorships for amateur and professional sportspeople part and parcel of the quadrennial competition. What’s different with this week’s announcement is that rather than that money being used to facilitate the event and support downstream development of the sports represented, its being used to reward those who earn a podium finish. 

Volunteer Ireland has made an objective and insightful submission to Ireland’s Law Reform Commission on the Liability of Clubs, Societies and Other Unincorporated Associations, echoing concerns that the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association raised with legislators when New Zealand's incorporated society law reform was proposed, progressed and subsequently passed in 2022.

Our proposed amendments to the existing 2022 Act and 2023 regulations will go some way to alleviating the types of burdens clearly identified by Volunteer Ireland in its submission on reform currently proposed for Ireland. We hope that the relevant Ministers and their officials give full consideration to our proposed amendments, early in 2024.

At a time when the value of New Zealand’s colonial past is being questioned by some, it’s timely to reflect on how those values have shaped the country's amateur sport community.

Patrick Alphonsus Buckley was born in the village of Gortbrack (“An Gort Breac”) near Castletownshend, in County Cork, Ireland on St. Patrick''s Day, 1840. Having emigrated to New Zealand (via Queensland, Australia) in the 1860’s, he died at 3.40pm on 18 May 1896, in Lower Hutt at the age of 56, having had a foundational impact on community sport.

The general disquiet and disbelief expressed by New Zealanders following damage to the iconic “Ranfurly Shield” last weekend reflects a great respect for this country’s colonial history. The Shield recalls the colonial governorship of New Zealand’s thirteenth Governor, Lord Ranfurly, who held his post from 1897 to 1904.

The Shield which bears his name represents the ideals and values that he brought to New Zealand in the late nineteenth century, which are still celebrated on the rugby field today, and by communities throughout New Zealand in our national game.

Renowned journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke once said, “I prefer radio to TV, because the pictures are better.” In sport broadcasting, a great exemplar of Cooke’s sentiments was Scottish rugby union commentator Bill McLaren, renowned for his colourful turn of phrase, who once said of the famous English Captain of the 1970’s, “there’s Beaumont in that English scrum, looking like a man who enjoys his food …”.

In a recently published paper, promoted by Sport New Zealand and the New Zealand Government (in which the opinions expressed are said to be “not necessarily those of Sport New Zealand”), various factors are suggested as reasons why local community ownership of sport through incorporated societies may no longer be a valid governance framework.

Quoting words ascribed to Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin in 1918, the paper suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic is the contemporary tipping-point from which revolutionary change is now inevitable.

While the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, David Clark, has said that the Government will not countenance any change to the recently passed Incorporated Societies Act 2022, there is no reason not to lobby for change given the impending electoral cycle and the unintended consequences of the new law on community sport.

Here are three proposals, well worth considering.

A recent media report suggesting that New Zealand pre-teens now prefer time on their electronic devices to time playing sport with their mates, is symptomatic of a much deeper issue than the proliferation of big-tech and on-line gaming products in pre-adolescent hands. Escalating costs are increasingly a barrier to families joining a community sport club, traditionally important centres of life-learning for Kiwi kids.

We should be less concerned about the ability of a child to catch a ball, compared to the risk of our youth not learning how to become positive contributors to their future society as adults.

On Friday, 27 August, the Association's Chairman spoke with Wallace Chapman, Livia Esterhazy and Patrick Gower on Radio New Zealand’s “The Panel”, on the wave of community sport club dissolutions which is threatening the fabric of amateur sport in this country.

The Panel supported the Association's call for the easing of the regulatory burden for incorporated sport bodies and suggested that a Government-led project be established to find a better way for volunteer-led organisations to meet their obligations under incorporation.

Today, the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee continued its hearings into the Incorporated Societies Bill. With a focus on tourism, Crown minerals, commerce, science, innovation, broadcasting and information technology, New Zealand’s amateur sport community should be very concerned that the draft legislation is not being considered by Parliament, with the right focus in mind.

The Association has made seven substantive recommendations on the draft Bill, which should soften the impact of the draft legislation should it pass into law. In it's oral submission, the Association recommended that the Bill be referred back to the community for further consultation to ensure it does not become the "law of unintended consequences".

Ten Members of Parliament have put their support behind a proposed new Bill which aims to amend the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 by banning alcohol sponsorship and advertising of all streamed and live sports and at all sporting venues, (in a similar manner to current restrictions on tobacco advertising and sponsorship). The Bill also proposes to prohibit alcohol sponsorship of the name of a sports team, sports merchandise, uniforms, and equipment.

Revenue generated “over the bar” has become an increasingly important part of the annual revenue of many sporting codes. Based on an analysis of the financial statements of 21 Wellington-based sport clubs, across seven different sporting codes, on average clubs with licensed premises generate 20% of the annual income from bar sales.

In 1938, Bert Kyle, Member of Parliament for Riccarton observed that the £4,000 allocated from the Government’s budget to support the newly formed 16-member National Council of Physical Welfare and Recreation Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs “seemed large”.

With the successor entity to Bill Parry's "National Council of Sport" now receiving nearly $100 million a year in Crown (taxpayer) funding, in the wake of COVID-19 and its impact on community sport is it now time for a review of where and how this money is spent? 

According to figures released by New Zealand Police (and recently reported in the media), at least 900 people joined gangs in 2020, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase.

It was reported that the majority of recruits are young men, with Canterbury University sociologist, Jarrod Gilbert noting that “there were a number of reasons why young people joined gangs, but the main factors were they wanted a sense of family or brotherhood”. Sport clubs can (and should) provide a positive alternative.

There are six-steps immediately needed to help volunteer organisations bridge the current capability gap between “best endeavours” and “best practice” when administering and promoting sport for their communities. 

Volunteers tasked with the management and administration of their chosen sport are typically passionate supporters of their game, but are they not necessarily skilled in undertaking governance, financial or other roles requiring certain knowledge, skills and experience, which can expose their organisation (and potentially themselves, if their organisation is not incorporated, or becomes unincorporated), to potential risk and liability.

As reported by TVNZ's "1 News" on Wednesday, 21 October, the appointment of an independent commissioner to review the administration, participation, facilities and funding of sport in the Auckland region over the next ten weeks is timely, given the challenges created by the on-set of COVID-19 and its impact on New Zealand communities. However, the review should cover sport nationally, given two-thirds of sport-loving Kiwis live outside Auckland.

Data from the 2020 NSCS which revealed that only a minority of sport clubs have received COVID-19 financial relief, with an increasing number of clubs also reporting that they are losing money and membership, may be surprising to government and its crown agency for sport, given the COVID-19 support packages made available this year.

It's perhaps less of an indication that financial support is not required by New Zealand’s sport club community, and more likely an indication that there are barriers to that support being accessed by those who need it most. COVID-19 may have exposed a dangerous disconnect between the organisations strategising for sport and the organisations largely responsible for delivering it to local communities.

The timing of this evening’s COVID announcement is not optimal for those involved in weekend community sport. Many organisations and their volunteers are planning for delivering opportunities for community participation in sport under the national requirements for Alert Level 2, but with uncertainty as to whether or not this will be possible. 

As part of its consideration of the physical impacts and costs of COVID-19, the cost to the mental health and social well-being of Kiwis arising from possible national cancellation of community sport must also be considered by Cabinet as part of its deliberations of current COVID status levels.

New Zealand Amateur Sport Association President, Andy Leslie MNZM, is sending an open-letter to all New Zealand local authorities, requesting financial relief from all council levies for local community sport organisations and clubs, arising from COVID-19.

The letter will be sent to the 78 City, District and Regional Councils in New Zealand, which provide facilities and services, at a cost, to local community sport clubs and organisations. A waiver of these costs for 12 months is proposed.

New Zealand's community sports clubs could lose at least half of their annual income as a result of COVID-19. Without grant-funding and membership-fees, their very survival may rely on their reserves, or Government support. 

A review of the financial statements of a sample of 10 leading incorporated sports clubs with a combined annual income of over $2 million, representing 10 different sporting codes in the Wellington region, shows that on average, 25% of their total annual revenue is derived from grant-funding. When combined with membership subscriptions, on average around half of the annual income of the sample is generated from these two income sources alone.

While sportspeople and sporting communities across the country eagerly await the lifting of restrictions on community sporting activities, both on-field and off-field, there is a challenge for all sporting codes to describe what will constitute a “safe” environment for playing sport and socialising around sport, in the future. 

To move community sport “from crisis to confidence”, an open and honest discussion by all community sport stakeholders with government and health-authorities will be required, with the Association willing to support this process through its comprehensive network and database of New Zealand community sport clubs.

How will communities overcome their fear of COVID-19 when contact sport resumes? Sports' administrators need to focus on defining what a “safe” playing environment looks like, to be able to reassure the community that “it’s O.K. to play”, when the current crisis ends.

Whether (or not) “social-distancing” or actual incidences of illness arising from COVID-19 give rise to a symmetrical stigma concerning physical contact with strangers in community sport, should be of urgent and careful consideration by administrators of sporting codes which require random (and often uncontrolled) physical contact.

Following the implementation of a Relief Package to support community sport organisations, there is an equally urgent need to develop a Recovery Plan which returns confidence to New Zealand’s sporting communities.

The Recovery Plan will need to involve a nationwide “It’s O.K. To Play” publicity campaign, together with a joint-funding approach from Central Government and the business community, supported by a comprehensive review of National Sport Organisation governance.

The Final Report for the 2019 National Sport Club Survey (NSCS) has been released and is available for download. The (NSCS) aims to generate insights that can be used to improve sport for all New Zealanders. While other sport industry data exists at individual level this survey provides a unique snapshot of the sport sector at club level.

If you visit any Secondary School or Club, upon entering you will more than likely be greeted by a cabinet of gleaming trophies, representing the success of the various teams that the School or Club supports. Signs of success such as these are important in establishing the value of the sporting community (or "tribe"), as it seeks to differentiate itself from others with similar goals.

Historically, the pride in the display was intended to demonstrate the values of the community through sport. More often than not, trophies on display will be named after a person (or persons), whose contribution to the sporting community has resulted in their values and success being idealised in the trophy being competed for. 

One of the biggest obstacles to the growth and well-being of amateur sporting clubs nationally may be the increasing insistence of high-schools to charge students who want to join school teams which play in local sporting competitions.

While the cost of participation varies by sporting code, it’s not uncommon for families to be asked to stump up over $100 per child, before the costs of clothing and equipment.