? Celebrating Petone?s sporting legacy
Sportsville in action stumps clubs
Hutt Valley Junior Softball Association president Joe Ferriso says organising Sportsville is a catch-22 because although the idea is good for sport overall it?s hard to get successful clubs to buy-in. ?Totara Park is a well managed club with good resources and getting richer clubs to prop-up the ones not doing so well is a tough call. ?With Sportsville, some clubs just have more to share than others,? say Mr Ferriso. One factor influencing a club?s success is the number of volunteers they can attract to administer the sport. Mr Ferriso says volunteers are a major factor in being successful, with funding for sports clubs dropping off over the past two years. ?We have taken on players from Stokes Valley and Eastbourne when the clubs went under ... the major costs for us are gear and sending players on rep tournaments. ?I find it difficult to see how Sportsville fits into that,? he says. Hutt Valley Softball Association umpire in chief Trevor Stratford says the framework for different codes sharing resources has been around for a long time. Umpiring softball games for over 20 years he says there are not as many umpires around nowadays. ?They have had this Fraser Park sports thing there the whole time ? it?s just a matter of tying it all up and bringing it together. ?There are not many [umpires] left and we could do with a few more, anything to boost the numbers would be very welcome,? says Mr Stratford. Sportsville is a SPARC?and Hutt City Council project which is supported by Sport Wellington?, NZCT and Pelorus Trust? and the new role of Sport & Recreation Relationship Manager has been filled by Laura Menzies. ?It?s a great challenge and making a difference to the sports clubs is a positive. ?It?s not a case of amalgamating clubs, we want to offer more services to clubs by getting buy-in from around the area ? it?s about creating new sports partnerships,? says??Laura?. Sportsville works by creating hubs in different areas for clubs to come together and share resources. Cost savings can be found in sharing insurance, grounds hire, and rates costs.??Clubs signed up to Fraser Park Sportsville hub??are?; Dodgers Softball Club, Hutt Valley Softball Association, Fraser Park Squash, Lower Hutt City Football Club, National Hockey Stadium Trust?, Naenae Hockey Club, Avalon Rugby Club? and the Taita Cricket Club. There is also a hub that has been set up at Mitchell Park and two more hubs planned for 2010. ?The idea is to stop clubs loosing membership and money on running costs. ?The main problem is clubs that struggle to attract funds and volunteers,? she says. Buy-in has been?excellent?to date with?all?eight clubs?joining the Fraser Park Sportsville hub.??Laura?Menzies brings her experience working with the Wellington Phoenix Football Club to the Sportsville programme.
