Net loss for ‘unselfish’ staff
Netball New Zealand (NNZ) staff have all taken pay cuts as the early impact of the Covid-19 crisis starts to be felt.
Salary reductions will be the new normal for all national sports organisations and NNZ chief executive Jennie Wyllie said they were no different.
‘‘I’ve got a huge amount of respect for our team. All of our staff have taken salary reductions, all Netball New Zealand staff.
‘‘It’s tricky because you can’t require this of staff, you have to work within the Employment Relations Act,’’ Wyllie told Stuff.
‘‘Everyone has fully 100 per cent opted into the proposals we have put to them. I couldn’t be more proud of their unselfish behaviour at this time.’’
NNZ was in regular contact with the New Zealand Netball Players’ Association (NZNPA) and was working through the financial implications for elite netballers.
It is inevitable ANZ Premiership players will face pay cuts, which could be substantial if the season is lost and the Silver Ferns are unable to take the court later this year.
Only the opening round of the premiership over March 15-16 was possible before New Zealand’s flagship competition was suspended indefinitely.
Wyllie remained hopeful the premiership could resume in some capacity, if the situation in New Zealand improved in the coming months.
In Australia, Netball Australia boss Marne Fechner and Super Netball boss Chris Symington have given up 50 per cent of their salaries until May 31. The Super Netball season, where Silver Ferns captain Laura Langman plays for the Sunshine Coast Lightning, is postponed until at least June 30.
There had to be unanimous buy-in from NNZ staff around pay cuts and Wyllie said she applauded their solidarity.
‘‘We’ve spent a lot of time as a team talking about what our role is at Netball New Zealand,’’ she said.
‘‘We firmly believe we are the kaitiakitanga of our sport and what that kind of means is we’re the guardians.
‘‘Netball has been around for 100 years and when it started it didn’t start with commercial deals and broadcast. It started with hard-working women and volunteers. I think that’s where I kind of draw strength from.’’
Most premiership players were fulltime netballers during the competition and work or study the other five months of the year.
With the competition New Zealand-based, Wyllie said they had the ability to get under way fairly quickly, once it was safe and if restrictions around domestic travel and mass gatherings were lifted.
NZNPA executive manager Steph Bond said it was difficult to yet tell how badly players would be affected financially. Should the premiership be canned for the season and commercial deals fall through, netballers would be negatively impacted.
‘‘Everyone is going to feel it and feel some of it somewhere. Across the system it’s going to be a tricky time,’’ Bond said.
‘‘We don’t really know what’s going to happen next week as opposed to the week after, as opposed to six weeks time.’’
Players were training in isolation at their homes, as all Kiwi athletes are. There was adequate support available around mental health and wellbeing through the NZNPA.
‘‘They’re pretty resilient girls. We’ve been in constant communication with them and we’ll continue to do that until we have some more answers,’’ Bond said on how players were coping.
Former Silver Ferns coach and 57-test defender Yvonne Willering said going from training every day with team-mates to solo would be a big adjustment for the players.
‘‘From each day we know what your itinerary is, what your schedule is all about and suddenly that’s been taken away from you and that’s difficult.’’
Willering stressed netballers would need to rally together through the challenging times ahead, and pay cuts were just the start.
‘‘It isn’t just about the players having to take a cut, it’s the sport as a whole. In order for the sport to survive everyone has to show tolerance.’’