Sports mergers ‘inevitable’
Mergers between national sports organisations are said to be ‘‘inevitable’’ as the financial fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic forces sporting bodies to overhaul its national and regional structures.
With the sport and recreation traditionally reliant upon community grants and local and central government funding, it is clear there is not going to be the same money being ploughed into the sector and experts are predicting a rapid downsizing in the coming months.
The crisis is driving a radical rethink of how sport is organised throughout the country.
One sports boss claimed mergers between some of the smaller organisations will be ‘‘inevitable if they want to survive this’’, while others will have to consider moving to a shared services model.
Sport NZ chief executive Peter Miskimmin confirmed discussions are already under way within the sector about national sports organisations (NSOs) joining forces. He says these moves are being led by the sporting bodies themselves.
‘‘I think naturally NSOs are starting to talk about that now,’’ says Miskimmin
‘‘Every organisation in sport is going to operate differently than they have been. Clearly, there will need to be different ways of driving efficiency and providing content and opportunities. They’re all seeing that, and they’ve already started that process.’’
Miskimmin did not want to speculate on which organisations could be in line to merge, as it is still early days.
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, talks had been held between Softball NZ and Baseball NZ about joining forces. The two sports have been governed by a single body at international level since 2013, leading to a successful bid for inclusion at the Tokyo Olympics, but at a domestic level, traditional attitudes that baseball and softball are in competition remain entrenched.
‘‘There’s so many benefits at a logistical and administrative level to do that, and I just think why wouldn’t two sports that have limited resources want to be a bit more efficient? But the same old blockers keep coming up, in terms of arrogance and misunderstanding of what the opportunity is,’’ a source close to the process told Stuff.
‘‘You have to break it down and ask these key questions about who you are serving? If you are a community sport, which essentially softball and baseball are with the exception of a few elite athletes, then the focus should be on the community level and how you can best deliver the game.
‘‘Hopefully, the current situation will force both organisations to relook at things from a more collaborative viewpoint.’’
Other potential mergers that have been raised in theory are combining Canoe Racing NZ and Canoe Slalom NZ to form one canoe sports body, along with the more radical suggestion of combining all rackets sports like tennis, badminton and squash.
Tennis NZ chief executive Julie Paterson says the idea of a merger is not something the organisation is considering, but she believes there are opportunities to work together with other sports.
‘‘There are definitely opportunities in sharing resources when you look at sports that have part-time marketing staff, part-time commercial staff, part-time finance people, but it is not something that we have considered yet at a strategic or board level,’’ Paterson says.
‘‘An interesting concept was floated some time ago about a number of sports basing themselves from one hub and, I guess governed by an overarching entity. I could see that working with some of the smaller sports.’’
Paterson says sports in general will need to be more open to sharing ideas and resources, which will require a major mindset shift given sports organisations have long considered themselves in competition with one another for membership.
‘‘That’s the bit that we’re really going to have to start putting aside, that competition for membership piece when we are talking about balance is better and kids not specialising until they’re much older,’’ she says.
‘‘Why can’t we have cluster hubs of a whole lot of different sports for kids to come along and try over a six- or eight-week programme? Instead of thinking ‘well, I have to keep my players in my sport because if they get a sniff of something else they might leave’.
‘‘Surely we’re all here to get kids more engaged with sport, and sports that are the best organised and create the most flexible offerings are going to be the ones that thrive.’’