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NEWSLETTER - APRIL 2013 CEO’S MESSAGE
Firstly I welcome you to the new season of club and school football. I trust those of you that have had a football break are all refreshed and ready to go, and those of you that carried over on over the summer months have had a successful summer season. So – what’s been happening and what’s coming up in the big world of football? There always seems to be a lot going on and we look forward to you catching up on a number of newsworthy items as you read through this newsletter. As usual I’d like to start by giving you a quick rundown on....................................
Central Football Board Happenings - Your Board continues to be busy managing your Federation in line with the 2012-2014 Central Football Strategic Plan, which can be viewed by clicking here. The 5 goals of the Strategic Plan are detailed below with all Federation business driven by these goals. The Strategic Plan is reviewed and measured against on a tri-annual basis. The goals are: Communication Football Development Competitions Facilities/Equipment Governance/Management
Current works in progress by the Board include: - A full scope as to where Futsal sits within the Federation and implementing a plan around, including development, officiating, competitions and National participation
- A critical review of Women’s football within the Federation and resource needs around development
- Aligning Franchise and Federation football
- Formalising arrangements regarding use and care of officials at unaffiliated competitions
- An annual review of the organisations policies and procedures
- Bedding down of the Regional Facility Strategy
- Consideration of the next stage of the Communications Plan (draft approved at the February 2013 Board meeting)
The Board will continue to send out post Board meeting updates to stakeholders. Whilst the content of those communications is only intended “as an update for your information” you are invited to question or contribute to anything from those updates, which should be directed to me at ceo@centralfootball.co.nz Central Football Annual General Meeting - The 12th Annual General Meeting of Central Football will be held on Sunday 18 May 2013 at 11.30am at Sport Manawatu, 50 Queen Street, Palmerston North. I must reiterate my message of 2012 when I expressed such disappointment at the turnout of the 11th Annual General Meeting, which was attended by just one club. I also repeat that I find it particularly frustrating that the Central Football team are regularly confronted about issues, and whilst that is their role the Annual General Meeting gives an audience with those that make the decisions that the team here implement. By totally disregarding the forum the opportunity to raise any issues, or more positively initiatives, is lost. I do hope we see a better turnout at the 12th Annual General Meeting, and if we doing such a good job that it is issue free then all the better!! Regional Advisory Groups - Regional Advisory Groups (RAG’s) are now all well established in each of the 5 Federation regions. While there are a number of responsibilities the RAG’s hold the overriding one is being a group that can consider opportunities and issues with “regional hats” on. Whilst there is a robust Terms of Reference for the RAG’s I have a very simple interpretation of their role and responsibilities, which is as follows: - To be the conduit for communication and consultation between Central Football and the stakeholders in the region
- To consider all opportunities for football in the regions, including development and competition
- To consider what best suits the region, with the ability to make change locally and internally as long as they fall under the confines of Central Football Rules and Regulations
- To work with Central Football management in developing strategic pathways
- To be cognizant of and actively involved in players, coaches, referees and volunteers welfare
- To consider regional funding and budgetary requirements for consideration by the Board of Central Football Board
- To support future planning by undertaking regular reviews of football in the region
- To be the “communiqué for regional football to the Board of Central Football
Dates for RAG meetings are generally set at the conclusion of the last meeting but they will be displayed on the calendar of Central Football’s website for your easy reference. If there is anything you wish to raise at RAG meetings please do not hesitate to contact our Regional Operations Managers: For Poverty Bay/Hawke’s Bay phil@centralfootball.co.nz
For Manawatu/Wanganui jess@centralfootball.co.nz
For Taranaki aroha@centralfootball.co.nz Our new Patron - Central Football would like to reiterate its announcement of March 2013 regarding the appointment of Mr Steve Marharey CNZM as Parton of the Federation. As detailed in the announcement Mr Maharey has a background of achievement at the highest levels and his current position of Vice Chancellor of Massey University is such a good “fit” with Central’s Football’s objectives in developing our youth. We as an organisation are so privileged to have Steve take up the Patron role and are also so appreciative that he in turn considers Central Football to be an organisation he is proud to be associated with. New Team members - Over the last few months we have welcomed into the fold Aroha Lynch as Operations Manager for Taranaki and Chloe Katene as Women’s Football Development Officer for Hawke’s Bay. Both are firmly entrenched in their roles and you are sure to be seeing and hearing from them a lot this winter. Aroha is based at Sport Taranaki and can be contacted at aroha@centralfootball.co.nz, whilst Chloe is in our Napier office at chole@centralfootball.co.nz For full contact details for Aroha and Chloe please click here.
And that’s it for me.............................. so I hope you enjoy this read. Your contribution and/or comment is welcomed, but your understanding the Federation has sole right to consider content and include or exclude at its discretion is appreciated. Again we do we appreciate your feedback so please feel free to contribute direct to me in this regard. Wishing you all a wonderful winter John McGifford
ceo@centralfootball.co.nz
OUR SPONSORS
At the start of the season it is appropriate to acknowledge the “unsung heroes” of our game our sponsors, and to thank them for their valuable and much appreciated support. There are many outside organisations that contribute in many ways and to all those, who are too many to mention here, we thank you. For the 2013 football season our major Federation sponsors are: Lotto – The well known sports brand of Lotto is a long time supporter of Central Football and for the last 2 years has sponsored our 2 top competitions, the Lotto Western and Pacific Premierships. For 2013, and for the next 2 years, they have taken the next step up in agreeing to sponsor the Lotto Central Federation League and in doing so increase their already considerable level of support. Please click here for more information on Lotto. ComputerCare – Central Football is delighted to introduce ComputerCare NZ Limited as the sponsor of the 2013 ComputerCare Pacific Premiership. ComputerCare is a provider of high level IT services and solutions and is based right here in our Federation with offices in Napier, Palmerston North and Wanganui. Please click here to find out more about ComputerCare NZ Limited. Withers Coachlines – And yet another new sponsor for Central Football through the support of Withers Coachlines, the sponsor of this year’s Withers Coachlines Western Premiership. Again within our Federation boundaries this family owned and managed business is based in New Plymouth, providing transportation services across New Zealand. To “see all of New Zealand” click here. Appmed House – Is an existing sponsor and one of Central Football’s most long standing sponsors. With offices in Hastings and Palmerston North football enthusiast Dr Paul Weaver and his team (medical not football!) offer a wide range of non surgical skin and vein treatments. Quite appropriately Paul extends his support to the “fairer side of football” in again sponsoring all the Hawke’s Bay Women’s Divisions in 2013. To view a full range of Appmed House services click here. You will all be aware of the importance of sponsorship to all sporting businesses and you are encouraged to “support those that support us” wherever possible, as in the end the winner will be football. OUR COMPETITIONS
Lotto Central Federation League “kicks off” early - A late withdrawal from entries for the 2013 Lotto Federation League has necessitated any early than intended start to the competition, due to it having to be extended to 3 rounds. The League had its opening matches over Easter, which was a week earlier than intended, and Central Football thanks the clubs and teams involved for accommodating this late change. It is disappointing to only have a 7 team League for our premier Federation only competition, especially given Central Football’s and Lotto’s significant investment into the event. Our due diligence following the 2010 Federation League established the most prohibiting factor towards such a vast League was the cost, but even after the introduction of considerable subsidisation of travel costs we still didn’t receive all the entries we had thought would be forthcoming. Despite the disappointing uptake the Board of Central Football remain committed to this competition believing it is the appropriate platform to form a robust and natural pathway to the Central League. We thank the clubs that have recognised and supported this and wish them well in their Central League and advancement aspirations. Premierships set to go -The ComputerCare Pacific and Withers Coachlines Western Premierships are all set to go this upcoming weekend. Numbers are strong for both Premierships with 8 entered for the Pacific and 9 for the Western. Overall Senior team numbers have held up well in 2013 with total teams pretty much on par with the previous year. The Federation Cup has also been well supported in 2013 with 18 Men’s teams and 12 Women’s compared to 16 and 8 respectively last year. Junior Football - And of course Junior football is just around the corner, with entries closing on Friday 19 April 2013. Junior football is set to commence on Saturday 11 May 2013, which as detailed below the Junior Framework rolling out up to 8th Grade in 2013. COACHING
Putting the “Fun” into Football - Central Football’s rollout of the Whole of Football’s Junior Framework continues in 2013 with the introduction of Fun Football. Aimed at the 7th and 8th Grades this programme follows a similar format to First Kicks, but is aimed at an evolving skill level. First Kicks still remains for the 4th to 6th Grade and with the significant uptake of 2012 being repeated in 2013 and now the “flow on” to Fun Football both programmes are sure to be keenly attended. Demo Days of the programmes are been staged throughout Federation, dates for which may be viewed on the Central Football website calendar by clicking here. For more information on Fun Football or First Kicks please be sure to contact your regional Federation Development Officer (click here for contact details). Holiday Programmes - It’s that time of the year where parents will be looking at activities for their children and once again Central Football will be running Holiday Programmes over the April holiday period. For more information on holiday programmes in your region please click here then go to the Noticeboard on your regional page. Coaching achievements - Over the summers months our coaches have not only been flat out developing those in the Federation Talent Centres but have been hard out developing themselves, and with great success. Our congratulations go to Hawke’s Bay Football Development Officer Leon Birnie and Manawatu/Wanganui Football Development Officer Scott Hales, both of who have gained their Senior level 3 accreditation, and to our Manawatu Women’s Development Officer Sandra Allison who obtained her Senior Level 2. But it doesn’t stop with coaching the players as our Referee Development Officer David Lawrie has also gained his Level 2 Instructors in recent weeks, so the coaching of our officials is also in up skilled hands. We also have a number of other coaches currently going through their Senior Level 2’s, so our best wishes go to them – and again our congratulations to those who have already taken another next step up. FUTSAL
Numbers continue to grow - It is encouraging to see the growth in numbers playing Futsal since the appointment of our Fustal Development Officer Nathaniel Wright in June last year. Nat’s immediate focus has been in Hawke’s Bay and it has been satisfying to see the teams entered in the Term 4 2012 and Term 1 2013 Leagues increase from 50 in the previous season to 90 in the most recent season. Nat has responsibilities across the whole Federation with the next focus being on the Manawatu region, where he is working hard to have a Secondary Schools programme in place over winter. Central Football is also in the initial stages of further developing Futsal in Taranaki, with Taranaki Football Development coach Troy Savage commencing the delivery of Futsal programmes into schools in Term 2. For Futsal advice Nat can be contacted at nat@centralfootball.co.nz or click here for full contact details.
National Futsal Champs - The National Fustal Champs were recently held in Wellington with both Central Fustal Hawke’s Bay and Central Futsal Manawatu participating. Of the two teams Central Futsal Hawke’s Bay fared the better, just missing the playoffs. The National Interschool Fustal Champs were also held at the same time with 5 High School teams from the central region participating. There were notable performances with the Taradale High School Junior side and Napier Boys High School Seniors both being runner up in their respective plates but the best performance was Havelock North High School winning the Senior National Championship. There were over 40 teams competing over the weekend including the likes of Auckland Grammar so to win the National title was a huge achievement by the Havelock North High School Team. NZ Futsal Whites - And on another positive note it was wonderful to see Federation Futsal players Tai Barham and Daniel Ball named in the NZ Fustal Whites squad for a three test international series in Tahiti in late March/early April. Named the “Festival de Iles” the event is a celebration of Futsal and is the culmination of a competition that involves over 700 teams across various men’s and women’s age categories from the five archipelagos that make up French Polynesia. At time of writing the Futsal Whites had unfortunately gone down 3-1 to Tahiti in their tournament opener. They will look to quickly improve over their final two games against Tahiti on Monday the 1st and Wednesday the 3rd. REFEREES
Referee Development - Recruitment and development of our officials continues under the guidance of our Referee Development Officer David Lawrie. Following a huge recruitment drive in 2012 the focus for 2013 is upskilling and game time for those registered. That said there are still some areas that would benefit from increased numbers so if refereeing is a consideration for you please don’t hesitate to contact David, or talk to any of your local officials who will steer you in the right direction. David has recently completed referee workshops around the 5 regions and is happy with the numbers and progress made by officials but as always remains available to assist anywhere where advice or further training is sought. David’s email is david@centralfootball.co.nz or click here for full contact details. Club Based Referee’s - Clubs were made aware back in November 2012 that it is mandatory to have a Club Based Referee for all 11 a side Junior and Youth teams and all Women’s teams in 2013. Most clubs have been proactive in adhering to this requirement and for that we thank you. There are still however some clubs still sitting on the bench in this regard who really need to get onto the field of play. There has been ample notification and there should no excuses. If you need any help or require any advise please contact David or your Regional Operation Manager (click here for contact details). Please note you can do a Club Based Referee course on line by clicking here.
FRANCHISE FOOTBALL
Hawke’s Bay United Football – Central Football’s congratulations go to the team, coaching staff and management of Hawke’s Bay United for their wonderful achievement in making the recent ASB Premiership playoff. Not only did the Franchise side make the top 4 for the first time but they went so close to having a perfect record at home, with their only home defeat being in their last game against Waitakere United in the first playoff. Our congratulations again go to all concerned on a fantastic season. YoungHeart Manawatu – While Hawke’s Bay United enjoyed unprecedented highs unfortunately YoungHeart Manawatu experienced a horror season. Whilst the final standing on the ladder was not what was desired on more than one occasion the team were unfortunate not to rack up more points. So often an otherwise strong performance was undermined by costly lapses, which without the end result may have been much improved. Certainly the season provided some positives to build on and we are certain YoungHeart will grasp that with both hands. UPCOMING EVENTS
All upcoming events and courses are displayed on the Central Football website calendar, which can be accessed by clicking here. Just a reminder though that Junior entries close on Friday 19 April 2013 so please be sure to contact your Regional Operations Manager in this regard.
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