Annual Report 2017
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OTAGO RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION Annual Report 2017 137th Annual Report of the Otago Rugby Football Union 1 Otago Rugby Football Union Inc. Notice is hereby given that the 137th Annual General Meeting of the Otago Rugby Football Union Incorporated will be held at the Pirates Football Club, 6 John Wilson Drive, St Kilda, Dunedin on Wednesday 21st March 2018, beginning at 7.00pm. Richard Kinley General Manager 2 President’s Report It only seems like yesterday that my two year term as President began in 2016, but what a wonderful experience this has been. This year I continued to visit as many clubs as possible as well as watch a large number of games at all levels in both the Metropolitan and Country areas. We all know there are some challenging times ahead for the ORFU in terms of ensuring we are doing our very best to cater for the expectations of the rugby community in all aspects of the game. Having said that I believe that I am in a privileged position to make a balanced judgement across the whole domain of community rugby, and I am strongly of the view that while we need to continue to address some areas of concern, there are still many positive aspects of the game that we should celebrate. I am continued to be impressed with the game at primary level and all clubs and schools should be congratulated on the way they are looking after our young players, encouraging them in a positive way to enjoy the game. The weight grades is an area of immense satisfaction to me as I viewed a number of trials and representative games all over the province. The tournaments were all extremely well organised, with coaches generally being involved for the right reasons, but above all there was an abundance of talent on display, making for a wonderful experience for all involved. The 7s tournaments at Millers Flat and at the Taieri Rugby Football Club were show cases for the game at this level and leave you feeling that the game is in good hands. The secondary school scene also continues to be an area of our game that is well administered by an experienced group of volunteers who do their very best to cater for the needs of all our players. While again there are some areas to work on, overall the game is in good heart. I really enjoyed watching the secondary schoolgirls rugby on a Wednesday afternoon, a real growth area of the game. The challenge is to ensure these girls continue to play on leaving school emphasising the importance of the school/club connection. A special thank you to Murray Munro who has stood down as Chairman of the Otago Secondary Schools Rugby Council after many years of outstanding leadership. The club scene once again was a pleasure to be part of. In the Country, the White Horse Cup matches are special events with large crowds and a wonderful atmosphere. It was also a privilege to be present at the Neil Purvis Memorial game in Tarras, where his new All Black cap was presented to the Purvis family following the loss of Neil’s previous cap when the family homestead was burnt to the ground. The Premier Competition in the Country was competitive in both regions with Clutha being worthy Country Club Champions. There is no question that the standard of Country Rugby has improved during the past 2 years, so credit must go to the many volunteers who have made this happen. The Topp Cup Day Event at Milton was testament to the interest in Country Rugby where a large crowd came to watch some wonderful games at all levels. A special thank you to Geoff McPhee who is standing down as Chairman of the Country Board after many years of dedicated service to Country Rugby. The Premier Metropolitan Competition proved to be very even culminating in a great semi-final day at Hancock Park and final at the Stadium, with Southern proving to be the best team in the competition. The Women’s Premier final was another great game with Pirates showing that little bit of extra determination to come through the victors. 3 President’s Report continued The Harvey Memorial Game between the Brighton and Green Island Senior Teams was very special. This was the 70th anniversary of the game and it was great to see that the Harvey family had travelled down from Christchurch for the occasion. The importance of these trophies at whatever level can never be under-estimated, as they are an integral part of our game. I also enjoyed my two visits to Outram to watch West Taieri play, firstly in the round robin and then later in the season when they won the Premier 2 Final – an amazing day. The Colts Competition was not ideal particularly around the University holidays, so this competition is currently under review to give players and clubs a better outcome. University showed their dominance in winning both grades. In watching so much rugby throughout the season, I would particularly like to pass on the Union’s appreciation to the referees throughout the province who willingly give up their time to officiate our great game. The emergence of secondary school referees is a wonderful initiative by the association and bodes well for the future. As we all know, the rules of the game are not easy to follow or understand, however we are so fortunate in having a very able group of volunteers who do their very best in assisting to give the players an enjoyable experience. The Sassenachs Club once again played an important role in this year’s rugby programme giving players throughout the province the opportunity to gain experience at playing at a higher level as well as supporting the preparation for the Mitre 10 Cup Team. Along with the Sassenachs are our Life Members and Past Presidents who are now an integral part of the Union’s activities. In the past two years, we have held a small function on the day of a Mitre 10 Cup home game. This has given them the opportunity to see the physical development on Level 2A including the new training facility, as well gaining a good understanding of how the Union is progressing in all areas. In addition, they receive a weekly newsletter of the President’s activities, which I know they all appreciate. It was an honour to represent the ORFU at the funeral of Sir Colin Meads in Te Kuiti, an occasion I will never forget. This year the Harbour Rugby Club celebrated 25 years since amalgamating the Port Chalmers and Ravensbourne Clubs. It was a privilege to be invited to their weekend activities, which were a wonderful success enjoyed by all those who attended. In conclusion, can I thank the Board and the Staff both collectively and individually for their support during my time as President. May I also take this opportunity to express the Union’s appreciation to the many players, volunteers, sponsors and supporters of our wonderful game. Please know that your contribution is extremely important and very much appreciated, and I am sure that you will continue to support the game in Otago at all levels during the 2018 season and beyond. Des Smith MNZM President 4 Chairman and General Manager’s Report As all sports are being challenged to adapt to a changing environment we believe the sports that plan to meet such challenges are most likely to succeed in being relevant, supported and successful into the future. With this in mind the ORFU commenced looking closely at how the Union can best provide the appropriate support to everyone involved in our game, both now and into the future. One step in this process was reviewing our strategic plan to ensure it reflected current societal trends and opportunities. Another action was undertaking a survey with female and male players involved in colts rugby and above. While this survey involved players based in the Dunedin Metropolitan area, a number of the key findings are applicable across all aspects of our game: . Players want to have fun and socialise with family and friends through rugby . The Club environment and experience is pivotal and remains important to all players . Players continue to prefer to play rugby on a Saturday regardless of the level of competition . Work and study commitments remain our major challenge These findings along with other feedback and information will assist the ORFU to plan with all our stakeholders and prepare for the future. From a governance perspective your board is very conscious of the reliance we have on New Zealand Rugby (NZR) funding models , something that we cannot take for granted in the ever changing world of sports funding as a result of changing spectator trends (in NZ and globally ) both at games and via the variety of media now available. We work particularly closely with NZR as it meets those challenges both from supporting their own review of their governance structure to providing our own staff resources to various NZR operational committees. During the year in review the Provincial Unions and Heartland Unions as NZR stakeholders approved a constitutional change to have 6 Board members appointed and only 3 elected directly by the Provincial Unions. This reflects that sports at any level needs skill-based governance reflecting the reality that sport is now a business. NZR also launched their Respect and Responsibility project (subsequently refined to Respect and Inclusion) which we have embraced and see as pivotal to retaining respect for and the integrity of our game.