Newsletter for May, 2021
Boxing New Zealand newsletter for May, 2021
Hi all,
Not long before the Golden Gloves events now and hopefully another chance to showcase our sport.
We are negotiating with Sky TV and the Sports Collective to attempt to get some coverage for these events. We are up against a number of other sports competing for the limited money available for such things.
One advantage we have is that we have exceeded all expectations regarding viewer numbers.
The NZ Sports Collective has over 50 sports aligned and based on viewer ratings for top level events, boxing sits at number four for viewer popularity. We are behind only, touch rugby, athletics and bowls. Not a bad effort for our first year in the collective.
I believe we can get funding for the coverage of, or at least partial coverage of the North Island Golden Gloves, the New Zealand Golden Gloves and the New Zealand National Championships.
The cost of production is not cheap (National Championships cost $25,000) so funding is imperative.
The exposure we received from last season has allowed us to build a picture of our viewer base and the demographics surrounding these viewers.
These numbers have attracted the possibility of funding from interested parties. Negotiations are soon to be underway with a couple of companies to potentially become sponsors of Boxing New Zealand.
The Olympics:
The Japanese Olympic Committee is determined that the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead and it has procedures in place to mitigate the possibility of problems relating to covid-19.
Our only boxing representative for the Tokyo Olympics, David Nyika has just returned from 43 days training in the United States. Next will be training camps in Australia.
It has not been an ideal lead-in to the Olympics for David but covid has played a major part in how the preparations have played out.
Boxing NZ:
At present we are trying to up our game by identifying areas where we are doing well and areas where we are not, as far as management of this sport goes.
Executive members have been asked to review their portfolios and suggest changes that may be required to enable more efficient participation of executive members.
We are volunteers and the time involved in helping run this sport is considerable but we put our hands up for the job and must attempt perform to the reasonable expectations of our members.
AIBA
Recently the International Boxing Association (AIBA) has entered into a partnership with the Russian oil and gas mega company Gazprom. Gazprom will be the main partner for all major AIBA international boxing events.
What this means is that there will be a considerable amount of Russian money made available to our sport in the near future.
The Russian government is the major shareholder in this company. It will be interesting to see how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reacts to this deal.
Russia has been banned from the next two Olympics and now we pretty well have Russian control of our sport.
Financially this is good news for boxing. AIBA has secured a major sponsor which should resolve the sports money problems.
The financial situation is part of the changes the IOC requested and now the financial problems appear to be resolved, so who knows how the IOC will react. Be careful what you wish for, comes to mind.
This is still no guarantee AIBA will be reinstated to Olympic status but along with other reforms that have taken place we may be a step closer.
What all this means to us is that a development grant of $500,000 has been offered to the Oceania confederation and $20,000 to national organisations.
AIBA has been denied Olympic solidarity funding for nearly three years now and this has crippled the ability of Boxing NZ to supply funding for the development of AOB boxing.
If the money comes from an oil and gas company so be it, maybe not the ethical outcome some may wish to see but for us in these times money is money.
We will be applying for this funding, for the purposes of coaches, athletes and officials development.
High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ)
HPSNZ has reformed its funding programme and it is now more coach and athlete centric.
“We’ll be investing $27.6 million in this fund between 2022 and 2024, with a view to extending it into our next four-year strategic period,” says Michael Scott, who recently stood down as the chief executive of High Performance Sport New Zealand.
``Our highly targeted funding model has delivered significant success and remains in place, but we are confident that we can now support a broader range of sports to achieve results that inspire New Zealanders.
``We believe this strategy is a game-changer for HPSNZ and New Zealand’s high performance system. It comes with a significant boost in funding and major changes in how we invest in and work with partners. We will be working with a greater number of sports, athletes and coaches in more places around the country, and with a stronger focus than ever on athlete wellbeing,”
Other funding and investment initiatives include a move from the current annual investment model to a four-yearly core investment cycles for all national sporting organisations (NSOs) to provide more financial stability, and increasing direct financial support to athletes from $6.74 million to $11.82 million per annum.
This will see HPSNZ invest in approximately 920 athletes by 2024, compared to 559 currently. A new base training grant will see between 240 and 260 high performance athletes each receive $25,000 per annum, and a further 140 to 160 potential high performance athletes $10,000 per annum.
Scott added: ``Our new base training grant is not performance based, so this and other new initiatives will provide more financial security to more athletes, alleviating financial and performance pressures which have the potential to impact on their wellbeing.’’
What all this means to Boxing NZ is that there may be some funding available for our sport for participants and coaches who have the potential for international competition. We will be wary though, as the promises of millions of dollars from our government to sports during the covid crisis came to next to nothing for boxing.
It is still pretty clear to Boxing NZ that the value of our sport to the communities of New Zealand is still not recognised by this government nor its subsidiaries such as Sport New Zealand. One good thing is that this initiative is from HPSNZ and we have a very good standing with them.
Housekeeping and internal affairs:
As I alluded to in the last newsletter, it is time to complete our reporting requirements to Sport New Zealand.
There are two main issues left to address:
- The tidying up of procedural information to Boxing NZ.
- The annual census of clubs affiliated to Boxing NZ
Procedural information:
The procedural information required revolves around the requirement of Boxing NZ to follow its own rules.
The rules in question are regarding the requirements of the incorporated societies associated with Boxing NZ. You should be receiving a letter requesting information from your associations secretaries regarding compliance to Rule 17.6.
This is not a big ask, simply a request for a copy of the president’s annual report, a copy of the minutes of the last annual general meeting, a record of executive members and a copy of the society’s constitution.
Boxing NZ is obligated to obtain this information from member societies by the Internal Affairs Department.
This request is a MUST DO if member societies wish to partake in the affairs of Boxing NZ.
Sorry to be so abrupt but this is the way it is. Associations who do not provide this information risk being not recognised as a member society of Boxing NZ.
The Census:
A big thank you to our member clubs and gyms which have completed the census.
To the gyms who have not bothered to fill out the census, once more please do so as I have said before the more we can prove our numbers and what we do in the communities of New Zealand, the greater chance we have of convincing Sport NZ of who and what we are and then the greater chance we have of increasing funding for the young members of our sport.
The census will take 10-15 minutes of your lives. This is not a big ask, some members of the executive of Boxing NZ not only run a boxing gym but hold down a job or run a business and raise a family and also spend the greater part of all of their spare time volunteering their services to assisting in administering our sport. Give us a break and make the effort to complete the census.
Clubs listed below have not completed the census, members that have please give these guys a push along to do their bit for our sport.
Apologies to those who have completed the census and who may be on this list, also some gyms/clubs may be redundant. It is a big job collating the numbers and mistakes will be made.
To those on the list who have failed to complete the census, this will be the last time I bother asking. Boxing NZ provides a platform for kids from your gyms to compete in AIBA Olympic Style Boxing competition as well as fighting for funding for camps and competition.
Give us a hand to make this sport better and receive the attention it deserves.
Once more, here is the link: https://forms.gle/NpeDtSPnRpVCENYv6
Gyms who have not completed the Census:
Auckland
Art of Boxing
Boxfit
Revill’s
Papatoetoe
Peach Boxing
Wellsford
Whangarei
Boxing Canterbury Metro
Arapawa
Ashburton
A Town
Alex Fidow’s
AOB
Boxfit Brother Mid-Canterbury
Rununga
Canterbury
Burnham Champ Nation
Round 12
Fitz Boxing
Riverside Round 12
Valhalla
Waikuku Youth Development
Central North Island
Central Boxing
Sykes Boxing East Central
Gisborne City Rotovegas Boxing
Tauranga Freestyle Boxing
Tokoroa Youth Boxing
Fit Nation Boxing
Counties-Manukau
Kia Kaha Boxing (1)
Kia Kaha Boxing (2)
East Coast
Wairoa Boxing
Hicks Bay Boxing
Hawke’s Bay
Hastings Giants
Ruahapia Boxing
Kirikiriroa
Beazley Boxing
Moana Boxing
Walton Boxing
Manawatu
BT Boxing
Kiwi Boxing
NZ Fight & Fitness
Palmerston North Boxing
Masterton
Masterton Young Citizens Boxing
Wairarapa Boxing
Nelson
Arapawa Boxing
Dixon’s Boxing
Kaikoura Boxing
Marlborough Boxing
Smack Fitness
Victory Boxing
Warrior Warrens
Whakatu Boxing
Otago
Fight Science
Lawrence Boxing
Queenstown Boxing
Rowes Gym
South Auckland
Pacific Boxing
Self Made Boxing
Southland
Elite
Gore
Invercargill
Taranaki
Barbwire Boxing
Coastal Boxing
Timaru
Te Muka
Timaru Boxing
Waikato
Ringside
Te Aroha
Wellington/Hutt Valley
Bellevue
Cannons Creek
Green Gloves
Heretaunga
Kapiti
Porirua
The Lion Pit
Wellington Boxing
Kind wishes to all,
Steve Hartley
President
Boxing New Zealand
Article added: Monday 17 May 2021