Liquidation ‘was inevitable’
The demise of Netball Mainland has been described as ‘‘devastating and inevitable’’ by leading Canterbury netball personality Marg Foster.
Netball Mainland, which oversaw the game across the top of the South Island, along with ANZ Premiership franchise the Tactix, announced it was going into voluntary liquidation on Saturday.
Netball New Zealand’s representative on the Netball Mainland board, Darren Wright, said liquidation was the only option.
‘‘It was inevitable once Covid19 started to hit and both community and high performance netball were shut down,’’ he said.
‘‘It made it a position... for [us] that we were unable to recover from.’’
The organisation underwent a restructure last year, which would have put it in a better position in 2020, Wright said.
Foster, a former Silver Fern and now a coach, said the restructure had put Mainland on the right path, which was much needed after the preceding 10 years since the organisation’s inception.
‘‘It was only a matter of time. As devastating as it might be . . . it [liquidation] was inevitable,’’ Foster said. ‘‘You do need strong leadership and to surround yourself with strong people who can really add value.’’
Former chief executive Brigit Hearn stepped aside last August after six years at the helm.
Netball Mainland had a ‘‘small surplus’’ according to its 2019 annual report, following an $11,000 deficit in 2018.
In 2017 the organisation had an operating deficit of $228,000 caused by ‘‘a number of extraordinary (unbudgeted) expenses, increased costs and reduction in benefactor funding’’, according to its annual report.
The financial situation has been a ‘‘serious struggle’’ for the organisation, said Wright, who did not want to comment when asked how well the zone had been managed.
While NNZ had been ‘‘incredible’’ with its support, Netball Mainland didn’t have the ‘‘capacity’’ to deal with the implications of Covid-19, Wright said.
‘‘We were looking at a positive balance sheet . . . for this year,’’ he said. ‘‘Things were starting to
look better. But we don’t have any capacity in the system to take a hit and certainly not a hit to this magnitude.’’
The lack of investment in women’s sport has also contributed to the organisation’s liquidation, he said.
‘‘Women’s sport really struggles to attract the financial attention,’’ Wright said. ‘‘When you compare it to other sports in Canterbury and the money they are able to attract . . . it’s a far more difficult space in women’s sport, which is bizarre as women are the spenders in our community.’’
The organisation is relying on the Government’s workers’ subsidy to pay its staff before the liquidation is ratified in 30 days.
Staff are receiving $585 per week until they are made redundant.
Wright couldn’t comment on whether Tactix players and coaching staff were still being paid their full wages during the stand-down period.
Stuff has approached NNZ for comment on the players’ pay.
But Foster said it’s clear the players will be taking a pay cut, like everyone else, including NNZ staff who were asked to reduce their pay last week.
‘‘Look at other sports like rugby and rugby league. They are all taking pay cuts,’’ she said.
‘‘The only sad thing for us is that we don’t earn hundreds of thousands for a salary . . . netballers don’t get paid exorbitant amounts.’’
Talks are under way with Netball Mainland and NNZ to transfer the management of the Tactix.
An announcement is due ‘‘in the coming days’’, Wright said.
Meanwhile, the community game will continue when netball resumes.
Seventeen centres, with nearly 20,000 players, make up the Mainland catchment areas spanning South Canterbury to Nelson and the West Coast.
It will be up to the centres to run community netball.