Otago Rugby Football Union Inc. Notice is hereby given that the 136th Annual General Meeting of the Otago Rugby Football Union Incorporated will be held at the Kaikorai Rugby Football Club, 25 Lynn Street, Maori Hill, Dunedin on Monday 27th March 2017, beginning at 7.00pm. Richard Kinley General Manager Presidents Report It is with real pleasure that I have the opportunity to report on what for me has been a most rewarding and enjoyable year. Since becoming your President at the beginning of the 2016 season, I have appreciated the long hard road back it has been for the Otago Rugby Football Union to recover from the financial situation of 6 years ago and to see where we are today. Not only have we made positive progress financially but also the strength of our player numbers, coaches, referees and volunteers continues to improve in most areas right across the province. It is also clear that we have gained a degree of credibility from NZ Rugby with the increased allocation of resources to help grow the game in Otago at all levels. We all know we have a long way to go to regain our position of standing of some years ago, but having been involved with the current Board and Staff over the past year, I believe we are making sound progress towards achieving our goals. The undoubted highlight for me this year has been watching the many junior, secondary school and senior club matches throughout the province both during the week and at the weekends together with having the opportunity of meeting up with players, parents, referees and supporters after the games. In general, the positive feedback I have received from the many people I have spoken to, certainly gives the Union confidence in knowing that the special features of Otago Rugby, which may have faltered through the difficult times, are certainly beginning to be recognised. In particular, I refer to the professionalism of the Board, the commitment of the Staff and most of all the incredible work done by our volunteer base across all areas of the game. Having the opportunity of attending many meetings at all levels, it never ceases to amaze me the time and effort that our volunteers put into the game. I have really enjoyed watching Junior Club Rugby on a Saturday morning and in particular to see the enjoyment that these young girls and boys get out of playing the game. While we still have some way to go on side-line behaviour, the initiatives taken by the Union are certainly making progress in this area. The numbers playing at the Secondary School level have remained constant and having attended all the secondary school meetings during the season, I believe that the game is in very good hands. I was fortunate enough to see a large number of interschool matches both in town and in the country and was impressed with the quality of the rugby and the general sportsmanship shown by both players and coaches. Club rugby took up the majority of my time on Saturdays either travelling to country venues or watching metropolitan games at all levels. I congratulate both the Country Board and the Metropolitan Rugby Council on the way they administered their competitions. Not everyone will always agree on the decisions made on certain aspects of the various competitions, but from the positive feedback I have received, the administrators deserve a pat on the back for the fine work they have done this season. President’s Report continued 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. 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 to contribute to give the players an enjoyable experience. The Sassenachs Rugby Football 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. While we are all disappointed with not winning the final of the Mitre 10 Cup Championship, it is important to remain positive and reflect overall on a very good team performance, particularly in light of the tough draw we faced at the beginning of the campaign. The 2017 season promises to be just as exciting with Otago again fielding a very competitive side. In conclusion, may I 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 have enjoyed this season as much as I have. Des Smith MNZM President Chairman’s Report Success for your Otago Rugby Football Union can be measured in a variety of ways; winning, financial outcomes, numbers and statistics, however your Board has a strategic plan which identifies core targets which underpin the future of our game across our province. These are the key performance indicators (KPI’s) against which we measure ourselves and the performance of our management team. High level goals are: Participation – Increase the number and improve retention of players, coaches, referees, club administrators and volunteers. Deliver well organised competitions for players at all levels. High Performance – Effective talent ID systems and training programmes in place for players of all ages. Representative coaches and elite referees developed and supported. Quality representative programme in place. Otago has a winning NPC team. Sustainability – Robust financial planning, internal processes and systems in place. Effective structure in place to support rugby delivery. Increase revenue through new and existing programmes. Increase reserves by achieving a yearly profit. Collaboration/Communication – Effective communication in place with all registered players, volunteers, coaches, funders and sponsors. Work with stakeholders to raise the profile of Otago Rugby. Strong relationships in place with all clubs, NZR, Provincial Unions, Highlanders, DVML, Media and other stakeholders. Your Board believes we have, and continue to make good progress on the KPI’s although the job is never complete. As you will see and appreciate, many of our holistic goals are not merely about winning one competition, notwithstanding winning is a key driver of attracting and retaining players, coaches and volunteers across the game and across our province. Winning is holistic and embraces growing rugby at all levels throughout our province. In summary, I believe your Board has served you and your game well over the year under review and we should be proud of and appreciate the level of commitment and dedication we have from a very able management team. The environment in which we operate continues to be challenging, reputation of any business is of paramount importance and as our game has been under the spotlight at many levels it does create focus for your Directors to take all reasonable steps to encourage the appropriate behaviours across the game in the province. That said, we must also be mindful of the social value rugby delivers as a sport and ensure the attractiveness of the game and the camaraderie across the sport is retained and not compromised by requiring governors to become parents. It should not be the role of sports governance to “Bring up” young people, it is our role to put in place policies, pathways, plans, training and initiatives to create a sport that young people wish to play, in a safe environment. Chairman’s Report Continued As I write this report we are undertaking the annual appointment process of Directors to fill vacancies created by rotation. This year Kelvin Collins, Rowena Davenport and Ross Hanson retire by rotation with Kelvin not seeking re appointment. It is therefore appropriate to thank Kelvin for his service over the past five years, his energy on both the Rugby and Marketing / Sponsorship Committees has been well valued along with his link to Central Otago. There is much being made at a national level as to diversity of Rugby governance which your Board supports, however I would like to make the point that diversity is not as narrow as gender diversity. Your board annually assesses where we believe we have gaps in skill sets and gives feedback to the appointments panel of skill sets we ideally need to fulfil delivery of the current strategy including a broad definition of diversity, including skill, ethnicity, gender and geographical. Whilst we are pleased to report a positive financial outcome the reasons are simple, we hosted a test- match run in in conjunction with DVML and DCC for which we were remunerated. However our biggest challenge to support and grow the future of rugby in your province is spectator attendance at commercial games (Mitre 10 Cup) and sponsorship. Without retaining and growing those revenue streams we will be challenged in delivering against our overall strategic plan in the future. We are a frugal organisation because we have to be, that also comes at a price in that we do not have free capital to invest in many of the activities we believe would be beneficial to you, our constituents. On that note I would like to record my thanks, on your behalf, for the volunteer work your Directors undertake in governing Otago Rugby. In closing, I would be remiss not to mention the accolade of the MNZM your President Des Smith received, totally appropriate and absolutely earned.