In this Relay
Sport New Zealand
Sport New Zealand appoints new General Manager, Community Sport and Recreation – 21 Sep 2012
Sport New Zealand has announced the appointment of Geoff Barry to the position of General Manager, Community Sport and Recreation. Geoff is currently Chief Executive of the Canterbury West Coast Regional Sports Trust and was Chief Executive at Surf Life Saving New Zealand for nine years. (Sport New Zealand)
Young people
Youth Volunteering in UN Youth New Zealand – August 2012
Elizabeth Chan, the immediate past National President of UN Youth New Zealand reports on youth volunteer recruitment and retention methods. She outlines practical suggestions for volunteer-involving organisations. (Volunteering New Zealand)
Western Australian KidSport served up for summer season – 31 Aug 2012
Now entering its second year, the KidSport programme, which offers sport and recreation club fee subsidies of up to A$200 a child for eligible families, has proved a hit, with 113 local governments partnering with the State Government to deliver the programme state-wide. (Government of Western Australia)
Canterbury schools embrace challenge – 15 Sep 2012
65 Canterbury schools, from primary to secondary, are embracing Sport Canterbury’s Top Team Challenge. Over 7,100 students across the Canterbury West Coast region have been will be introduced to the series of team-based activities that promote teamwork, initiative, problem-solving and communication skills. (Sport Canterbury)
Literacy standards and physical education – 22 Jul 2012
In this video two Mangere College heads of English and health and PE describe a cross curricular approach to introducing literacy unit standards and gathering naturally occurring evidence across both learning areas. The teachers involved visited one another’s classes throughout to ensure the students understood the links between their work in English and PE. (New Zealand Curriculum Online)
Youth sports: the problem, say kids in a new poll, is adults – 11 Jun 2012
This US survey of children ages 8 to 14 who play team sports revealed that 84 percent said they had quit a team or wanted to quit. Almost half of these (47 percent) said the reason for this was because it wasn't fun. Another 29 percent said teammates were mean, and 23 percent said there were too many practices that interfered with other activity. (Christian Science Monitor)
Getting kids into nature – 25 Sep 2012
Parents need more support to make the outdoors a part of everyday family life, research for the National Trust has found. Respondents said, in the full results, parents need more accessible child and family-friendly green and natural spaces and that opportunities for children to access and enjoy nature need to be promoted in a more joined-up fashion, and in ways that appeal more to families and children. (YouGov)
Kids who play interactive video games have better motor skills – 24 Jul 2012
Deakin University health researchers have found pre-schoolers who play interactive video games, such as Wii, have better motor skills. The researchers conducted a pilot study of 53 pre-schoolers found that object control motor skills, such as kicking, catching, and throwing a ball were better in the children who played interactive games. (Deakin University)
Psychological well-being, self-reported physical activity levels, and attitudes to physical activity in a sample of New Zealand adolescent females – 1 April 2012
Physical activity is a key component of healthy development, not only physically but also psychologically. This study measured physical activity levels and psychological well-being in adolescent females using a cross-sectional design, and investigated the relationship between the two. Select the full text button to view the article. (Auckland University of Technology)
Barriers, facilitators and preferences for the physical activity of school children: Rationale and methods of a mixed study – 14 Sep 2012
Physical activity interventions in schools environment seem to have shown some effectiveness. This paper looks at the rationale and methods of a mixed methods study with the objective of getting a deep understanding of barriers, facilitators and preferences for PA. (University of Castile–La Mancha)
Protective eyewear can ward off injuries in young athletes – 25 Jul 2012
Paediatric eye specialists at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Centre are sounding the alarm on a preventable yet all too common occurrence - sports-related eye injuries. They urge parents and coaches to have young athletes wear protective goggles, especially for high-risk sports such as fencing, boxing, soccer, basketball, softball, lacrosse and baseball. (Johns Hopkins Children’s Center)
Community sport and recreation
Coaching strategy and community sport coaching plan – July 2012
Sport NZ's vision is to create a world leading coaching environment to meet the needs of both community participants and performance athletes. This link contains the recently released Community Sport Coaching Plan 2012–2020 and the Coaching Strategy. (Sport NZ)
Teaching values through sport: a systems perspective from women coaches – September 2012
Coaches play an important role in ensuring that athletes learn healthy and socially beneficial life skills, values, and principles through sport. This article explores what values women coaches in particular focus upon, what strategies they utilise to instil values in their athletes, and in what ways they see these values carried forward into an athlete’s life outside of sport. (Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching)
Aucklanders 50 and over: a health, social, economic and demographic summary analysis of the life experiences of older Aucklanders – April 2012
New Zealand has an ageing population that is increasing in its importance to the sport and recreation sector. This Massey University Longitudinal Study of Ageing among Aucklanders provides a greater understanding of the life experiences of this population and has a specific section devoted to community participation and recreation. (Auckland Council Research, Investigations and Monitoring Unit)
Scottish Household Survey 2011 – 31 Aug 2012
Chapter 13 of this report provides the latest information on Scottish participation in sport and culture. Other topics of interest include young people and play (chapter 7) and volunteering (chapter 12). (Scottish Government)
Lottery boost for UK’s talented deaf athletes – 24 Sep 2012
New National Lottery funding will help more talented young deaf athletes in Britain fulfil their sporting potential and support athletes who are training for next year’s Deaflympics. UK Deaf Sport will receive more than £125,000 from Sport England to support the UK Team’s preparations for the competition in Bulgaria. (Sport England)
Outdoor recreation
Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas – August 2012
This publication is a collection of extended abstracts from the conference, which focused not just on changes in outdoor recreation participation and behaviour, but also changes in management of recreational areas that will impact the future of outdoor recreation. Note please that this is a large file. (International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas)
Australasian Parks Forum agency statistics – 11 Sep 2012
Australia’s Parks Industry Performance Framework, provides a rationale for performance measurement, standards, accreditation and the need for recognition of innovation and best practice. The initial stage of implementing the Parks Industry Performance Framework included the collection and collation of base data. . A summary report is freely available from this site. (Parks Forum)
US – Recreation and the new demographics – 1 Sep 2012
This article explores the impact on parks and recreation of changing ethnic and racial demographic forces reflected in the 2010 US census. Park and recreation agencies around the country are finding success by catering programmes to the needs of the changing demographics within their diverse communities. (Parks & Recreation Magazine)
New drug and alcohol regulations for NZ adventure tourism – 20 Sep 2012
Adventure tourism operators will face stronger regulations to help prevent tragedies from drug and alcohol-related accidents, the New Zealand government has announced. The proposed changes to the Health and Safety (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2011 and aviation and maritime rules will create an explicit requirement for operators to monitor and manage safety risks associated with drug or alcohol impairment from mid-December 2012. The disclosure statement provides an analysis of options to strengthen the management of drug and alcohol-related safety risks across the adventure tourism industry. (Outdoors New Zealand)
Understanding accidents in the great outdoors – 6 Sep 2012
Recent research has found that the Australian outdoor industry’s understanding of accidents is limited, due in part to the absence of a standardised accident and injury surveillance system. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the industry to prevent accidents and reduce risk effectively. This article looks at a systems approach to understanding accidents. (Outdoors Queensland)
Recreation won't be affected by Te Urewera deal – 12 Sep 2012
Federated Mountain Clubs is not concerned about the impact the government’s $170m Te Urewera National Park Treaty of Waitangi settlement with Ngati Tuhoe will have on recreation. The deal, yet to be finalised, removes the park from the national park network and creates a new management regime that recognises neither the Crown nor Tuhoe own the land. Crown agencies and iwi will co-manage the park. (Wilderness)
High performance
Targets set with release of High Performance Sport New Zealand strategy 2013-2020 – 27 Sep 2012
High Performance Sport New Zealand, (HPSNZ), has released its strategy through to 2020, which is designed to get even more New Zealanders winning on the world stage. The strategy describes HPSNZ’s vision, sets new targets for the next two Olympic cycles, and outlines the long-term aspiration for New Zealand to be recognised as having one of the world’s leading high performance systems. (High Performance Sport New Zealand)
Realising world class coaching programme potential – 1 Sep 2012
UK Sport has provided funding for two UK-wide coach development programmes for coaches of high performance athletes operating across all home countries - Inspire and Aspire. The programmes are structured to meet the development needs of each individual coach. (UK Sport)
IRB Junior World Championship 2012 game analysis statistical report – 12 July 2012
This report reflects the shape of the Under 20 game as played in the Junior World Championship 2012. It provides a basis whereby each participating country can compare its performance in major areas of the game with the other teams that played in the competition and can be used to establish benchmarks and performance indicators for future tournaments. A similar report, for the Junior World Rugby Trophy 2012 competition is also available. (International Rugby Board)
New World Cup course at Cardrona Alpine Resort – 13 Sep 2012
The world's best snowboard and skier cross athletes are taking advantage of a new purpose-built World Cup course during an elite training camp at Cardrona Alpine Resort. With the Winter Olympics qualifying period for ski and snowboard cross kicking off in December the camp has attracted national teams and representatives from USA, Russia, Norway, Australia and Slovenia, all looking for valuable training time. (Winter Games NZ)
T-minus 365: one year out from the America’s Cup Finals – 7 Sep 2012
On September 7, 2013, America’s Cup defender Oracle Team USA will line up against one of four challenging teams for Race 1 of the 34th America’s Cup. The 34th Cup promises to be a venture into the unknown- new venue, new boats, new racecourse, new racing rules, and new TV graphics. (America's Cup)
Surfing Australia opens world’s first surfing specific training centre – 15 Jun 2012
The $4 million Hurley Surfing Australia High Performance Centre has been officially opened. Funded by the Federal Government, the centre at Casuarina in northern NSW is the world’s first facility dedicated to the development of elite surfers and coaches. (Surfing Australia)
Tri NZ appoints new High Performance Director – 21 Sep 2012
Triathlon New Zealand has scored something of a coup in the triathlon world with the appointment of highly regarded Graeme Maw to the newly developed position of High Performance Director. The appointment of the former High Performance Director at British Triathlon is the first significant step in the implementation of the recommendations of the recent Independent Review into the Tri NZ HP Programme. (Tri NZ)
Organisational capability
New Zealand Cricket governance review update – 12 Sep 2012
New Zealand Cricket has provided an update on the Governance Review that was commissioned following last year’s AGM. An independent consultancy was appointed to complete a review of the organisation’s governance and make recommendations. View the 39 recommendations here. (New Zealand Cricket)
British Rugby Football League governance review paves ways for sustained success – 19 Jul 2012
The British Rugby Football League has recently received a Review of Governance in Rugby League. The review concluded that Rugby League governance was ostensibly sound but it did make a number of recommendations where further improvements will allow the game to make the most of its opportunities for success. The full report is available. (SuperLeagueFans)
Australian Rugby League Commission recognised – 26 Jul 2012
The Australian Rugby League Commission has been named the Governing Body of the Year at the Beyond Sport Federation Awards in London. Beyond Sport, a global organisation that promotes, develops and supports the use of sport to create positive social change across the world, paid tribute to Rugby League’s education and health programmes and its commitment to support indigenous communities. (Australian Rugby League Commission)
The psychology of change management
Over the past 15 or so years, programmes to improve corporate organisational performance have become increasingly common. Yet they are notoriously difficult to carry out. Success depends on persuading hundreds or thousands of groups and individuals to change the way they work, a transformation people will accept only if they can be persuaded to think differently about their jobs. In effect, CEOs must alter the mind-sets of their employees—no easy task. Please note that the full article can be accessed following registration. (McKinsey Quarterly)
Becoming a networked non-profit – 30 Aug 2012
The environment in which non-profits are doing their social change work has changed dramatically over the past five years. It’s more complex, online networks are central to our lives and work, and stakeholders want more involvement. Seeing tangible results from your organisation’s social change efforts now requires two things to be successful: leading with a network mindset, and using measurement and learning to continuously improve. It is just not about using the tools—having a Facebook brand presence or tweeting as the CEO of your organisation—it is a total redesign of your organisation. (Stanford Social Innovation Review)
New chairman for Swimming New Zealand announced – 3 Sep 2012
Swimming New Zealand has announced its new chairman will be Brent Layton, of Wellington. Brent Layton is currently chairman of the Electricity Authority, the establishment of which he led. He also has a lifelong interest in swimming, has held NZ Masters records in butterfly, and continues to swim recreationally on a regular basis. (Swimming New Zealand)
New Basketball New Zealand chief executive tackles challenges – 26 Sep 2012
New Basketball New Zealand chief executive Iain Potter already has his shopping list of priorities sorted for the coming months. Even before Potter’s appointment, Basketball New Zealand and Sport NZ had been working on a planning document that sets out a pathway for the sport over the next decade. It’s an acknowledgement that some things can be done better – in some cases, a lot better – and the “All of Basketball Pathway Plan” sets that blueprint. (Basketball New Zealand)
Sports science and technology
The spin racket - ping pong champs are intuitive masters of fluid dynamics – 8 Aug 2012
Curve balls may help a pitcher strike out batters in baseball; and some nasty spin can make an opponent sweat to return a tennis serve. But more so than in any other ball game, in table tennis – where the ball is so light and so small –dedicated players must master the physics of spin. (Newswise)
Can pre-season fitness measures predict time to injury in varsity athletes? A retrospective case control study – 23 Jul 2012
The ability to determine athletic performance in varsity athletes using pre-season measures has been established. This study sought to determine the ability of pre-season measures of athletic performance to predict time to injury in varsity athletes. (Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Rehabilitation, Therapy & Technology)
BokSmart – implementing a national rugby safety programme – 19 May 2012
The BokSmart National Rugby Safety Programme is a joint initiative between the South African Rugby Union and the Chris Burger/Petro Jackson Players Fund aimed at implementing evi¬dence-based sports medicine and exercise research to prevent injury and enhance performance at all levels of rugby union in South Africa. (British Journal of Sports Medicine)
Visualisation and mental skills for injury recovery – 28 Jul 2012
From the outset, research and practice around the use of mental imagery or visualisation in sports has recognised a relationship between the psychological and the physiological. For example, the ideomotor principle of visualisation to describe the similarities in electrochemical impulses that flow through a muscle when it is flexed and when it is ‘imagined’ to be flexed. This implies that we can prepare our bodies for movements long before we physically do them. (Podium Sports Journal)
New guidelines are needed to manage heat stress in elite sports – The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball heat stress monitoring programme – 9 Jun 2012
The author of this article proposes there is a discrepancy between the available heat stress guidelines and the actual risk of heat-related illness among professional beach volleyball players competing under hot and humid conditions. This study monitored heat stress and recorded cases of heat-related medical forfeits on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. (Norwegian School of Sports Sciences)
Off the bench: Sports Law
Betting in sports and integrity at the London Olympics: an insight from the UK Gambling Commission – 26 Jul 2012
In the build-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games the International Olympic Committee, representatives of the UK Government and others have stated that sports betting integrity and match-fixing have overtaken doping as the principal threat to the Games. This interview with the Director of Corporate Affairs of the UK Gambling Commission discusses these issues. (Law in Sport)
No holds barred: gaol for match fixing – 11 Sep 2012
Australian Minister for Sport Kate Lundy has welcomed the passage of legislation in the New South Wales parliament that will see match-fixing in sport, race-fixing and other forms of corruption punishable by imprisonment. The proposed Cheating at Gambling Bill will see a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment for anyone found to have engaged in or facilitated conduct that corrupts the outcome of an event. (Kate Lundy)
Ambush marketing and the mega-event monopoly – 2012
Opinion is divided amongst sports bodies and administrators and sports marketers and their advisers alike on whether ‘ambush marketing’, where a company or a commercial organisation claims unfairly an association with a sports event, which they do not have and for which they have not paid a penny, is clever marketing or plain theft, as claimed by the International Olympic Committee. This book review outlines the issues. (Asser Institute)
Protection from ambush marketing in New Zealand – 17 Apr 2012
The Major Events Management Act 2007 provides protection to organisers and sponsors of major events from ambush marketing. The Act recognises that major events rely on sponsors making very large financial commitments. Clearly those sponsors do not want others to free-ride on their investments and trade off the goodwill and publicity surrounding an event. This site discusses this protection. (New Zealand Major Events)
Ticket scalping major concern for sporting organisations – 17 Sep 2012
The New South Wales Minister for Fair Trading and the Minister for Sport and Recreation have met with leading representatives from major sporting codes and industry stakeholders to discuss the consumer impact of ticket scalping. Representatives from the National Rugby League, Australian Rugby Union, Football Federation Australia, Cricket Australia, Australian Football League, Tennis Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust all attended the roundtable. (New South Wales Government)
Football Queensland’s legal battle with the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission that could cost Australian sporting bodies millions – 7 Jun 2012
Football Queensland is appealing a decision by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission that it says will lead to higher playing costs and dwindling participation rates, and may have wide-reaching consequences that could cost Australian sports organisations millions. (Sports Business Insider)
Sports bodies create £150,000 legal advice pot for sport and recreation organisations – 19 Sep 2012
As part of their Legal Panel Framework, the Sport and Recreation Alliance, Sport England, UK Sport and Sport Wales, have announced the launch of a Pro-Bono Fund for sport. The Fund comes in the shape of a commitment from each of the ten law firms appointed to provide up to £5,000 worth of advice direct to national governing bodies and sport and recreation organisations. (Sport and Recreation Alliance, UK)
Useful websites
Sports and Taxation website
This international resource has topical articles regarding the taxation of sportsmen and sportswomen. Recent discussions include the tax impacts of the Olympics and feature the taxation of Olympic torch sales.
New South Wales State Library Sport and the Law site
Part of an educational resource this site has links to sport and law-based websites.
Skills-plus: bridging volunteer experience and career development
This tool was created to facilitate "the linkage between volunteer experience and occupational core competencies," so that non-profits can structure volunteer opportunities to access workplace skills and competencies.
Volunteer Canada’s resource centre
This online tool offers a wealth of information regarding volunteerism and managing volunteer resources including oversight, recruitment and screening.