From the Sidelines: Passion for sport is powerful for everyone

John Paul College's Anyssa Rimmer (left) contests the ball during the Maurice Hulme Football Tournament in Rotorua. Photo / Stephen Parker

It is sometimes easy to forget, when you are watching the final product, just how much effort goes into making sport happen.

In the Bay of Plenty we are blessed with coaches, managers and administrators whose passion for their sport runs so deep they spend hours upon hours behind the scenes, making sure everything runs smoothly.

One of those people is Rotorua Basketball's Ngaire Lee, who I had the pleasure of interviewing this week. The 88-year-old has been coaching and administrating at all levels of the game for the past seven decades, driven by a pure love for the sport.

There are many others. This week is secondary school tournament week, throughout the country there are 20-25,000 students playing in 78 different tournaments.

None of those events just happen, there is an army of coaches, managers, administrators and officials doing their part to share their love for sport with the next generation. I take my hat off to them.

Growing up I was lucky to have many passionate coaches, one of them being my own dad. The common theme was an infectious love for sport which you couldn't help but be influenced by.

That's where it all started and now I'm lucky enough to have a career in which I live and breathe sport. Often on a Saturday, I'll spend all day covering sport for work and then go home, turn on the television and watch some more.

Without the countless people working behind the scenes, making sure I was able to embrace and enjoy a love for sport, I have no idea what I would be doing now.

Rotorua is also in the middle of the 86th Kurangaituku Netball Tournament, held over three weekends and including more than 350 teams.

I have seen for myself how hard the Kurangaituku organisers work to ensure everyone has an enjoyable, fair and competitive experience. The draws themselves take weeks to put together. There are multiple grades with multiple sections and organisers ensure each is balanced and that teams are spread out so they are not playing those they would usually play in their local competitions.

Seeing the effort that goes into organising the tournament, it is no surprise that when I went down to interview people about how it was going, they were full of praise and positivity. That's why it has been around for 86 years - those who organise it are passionate about netball.

We live in a cynical world full of keyboard warriors where, no matter what you do, there's always someone who will complain. Luckily, there are just as many people who ignore all of that and year upon year focus on the job at hand.

Next time you're at a tournament or event, have a think about the work that went into organising it and thank those involved. They deserve it.