Club Update #3 - March 2021

Posted April 01, 2021
IHNZ News

2021 Season Starts!
The 2021 season has kicked off with successful events held in both Hamilton and Nelson to date and many clubs holding their pre-season musters. Club training has started for some with other clubs looking to start over the next few weeks.

Regionals Committees are currently finalising their league notices and draw in conjunction with the mandatory requirements from the IHNZ Nationals event notice.

It is worth noting that IHNZ does not draft the league notice for each region, rather provides what is required for Nationals entry and leaves each region to run their leagues according to clubs and memberships needs. This means the region can cater for the needs of both large and small clubs and any specific needs within that region.

InterRegionals are being held in Kerikeri in July this year. Your regional committees will be arranging trials, appointing coaches and selectors so keep an eye out for these dates.

A number of successful referee courses have also been held throughout the country to date. We encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with the annual IHNZ event calendar which has information on sanctioned events, referee courses, regional skills training camps etc.

This information has been posted to both the IHNZ Facebook and website and is also passed to all clubs for distribution via their noticeboards, Sporty links, and emails.

Your club should be your first point of contact for any questions or queries you may have.

April is looking to be a busy month with the annual MWI/Bauer Cup being held in Auckland over Easter, the Nelson Open scheduled for mid month and Hamilton hosting the Tuf Guy, Tuf Gal Tournament at the end of the month.

Fantastic to have hockey happening again and best of luck to all attending, enjoy!

AGM
The 2021 AGM has been confirmed for Saturday 19 June from 11.30am - 3pm at the Heartland Hotel in Auckland. As the AGM has been in Auckland for the last couple of years IHNZ endeavored to book the 2021 AGM in Wellington but haven’t been successful.

In light of this we have forward booked for 2022 and have secured the Miramar Golf Club in Wellington for a tentative date of 28 May 2022 for next years AGM. Any amendments to this date will be advised.

Policy Updates
Currently the Board is working through a number of policies in the interests of updating them. Some are dated back to 2013 and whilst working through, changes have been made to align them with current Charities Act requirements, Privacy Act changes, audit procedures and governance processes to ensure they are fit for purpose going forward.

There are a couple of new policies which were drafted by Inline members who have expertise in these areas, such as the Youth and Protection Policy which emphasises the welfare and interests of the young people in our care. This is our organisation’s commitment to protect them and recognise that safety and protection is paramount.

A number of policies go to club and regional committees for feedback as necessary ( eg the Constitution, Regional Committee Guidelines etc.) and are then re drafted for further comment.

We have had some excellent comments and feedback received to date which show the commitment by our members to the sport.

Likewise, we have had a number of comments from members saying they have never seen the documents or been able to make comments to date. Again, ask your club for this information if you feel you have constructive information to add to these policies whilst they are being drafted.

Communication 
There are many channels for people to comment through - clubs, regional committees, IHNZ email address etc. Newsletters are distributed on a regular basis as well as regular meetings held at a club and regional level with the Board representatives to raise issues.

If you have an issue, please use the channels and forums available. If you find you aren’t getting a response from your club use the board email address.

Sport NZ/Aktive
Councils across New Zealand have a reduced capacity for investment and budgets are proving to be a balancing act as they recover from Covid- 19, Community sport and recreation facilities are fighting for council dollars and any lower priority projects are being deferred.

Sport NZ, Aktive and other regional bodies regularly publish strategies and information at both a national and local community level which IHNZ forwards to clubs.

These include budget information whilst recovery is in place from Covid-19, coaching seminars, regional plans and outlines for sport and recreation going forward, information on courses, grants/funds available etc. Please review these and make the most of the online coaching seminars etc. as a further upskilling opportunity for our coaches, etc.

COVID 19
As part of the Boards forward planning process, there are alternate options around the structure of Nationals and Inter Regionals currently being reviewed in the case of any disruption by Covid.

There is also a review of the regional options that can be used as per 2020 IHNZ guidance which asked that each region be prepared to hold an event if a national based event couldn’t take place but one could within a regional format. This is to allow as much hockey as possible to be played under MOH rulings.

This is not to be seen as passing the buck in terms of organisation as was clearly discussed with both club and regional chairs, this was about giving a viable, alternative option so hockey could continue safely and in accordance with guidelines.

This information will be distributed to clubs as soon as possible for feedback. For more information on Alert Levels and what they mean please see www.covid19.govt.nz/alert-system/

We will continue to update all clubs and members as information comes to hand and encourage you to email any questions or queries to gm@inlinehockeynz.org.nz.

Stay safe all,
IHNZ Board