“Young people are playing and/or umpiring netball to enjoy the sport (they are not professionals and these games will not determine their status in the sporting world or life overall), adults who behave like this ruin it for everyone.”
The email included links to Good Sports videos from the Netball New Zealand YouTube channel that describe inappropriate and appropriate parent behaviour on the sidelines.
The email asked anyone who was guilty of inappropriate behaviour or had a family member who was to “please stop, reflect and take some learnings” from the videos.
It ended by saying that if anyone was big enough to admit to poor behaviour, they should take the first step and apologise.
A woman, who spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times on the condition she and her netball-playing daughter were not identified, said she had seen belittling behaviour displayed when a 12-year-old was acting as umpire in a recent game in Tauranga.
Another parent nearby was giving audible sighs and complaints, criticising the young umpire, the woman said.
“It wasn’t like the World Cup or anything. The umpiring was hardly going to cause an upset.”
The woman said she believed behaviour like this was why children gave up sport.
“When you’re 12 and you’re out there on the court, responsible for half a court, and you’ve got parents breathing down your neck and girls on the court who don’t even know all the rules yet, it’s not particularly helpful walking past that kind of hostility on the sideline,” she said.
“Everyone there is learning, the kids on the court and the referees, who receive training to be there.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t argue if our daughter didn’t want to play netball again. It’s left me with kind of bad vibes about netball.”
Despite this, the woman said she was encouraged by shirts some young umpires wore that said: “The players are learning and so am I”.
Tauranga Netball Centre manager Tracy Walters said the email was intended as a positive reminder to people of why they were there, rather than declaring an issue. It could become a problem if it was ignored, however.
“It’s easy to say we have a problem but I don’t think we have a problem, people just need reminding,” she said.
“It’s not all about winning. It’s the drive and the fun of the sport they love.”
Walters said poor sideline behaviour happened all over New Zealand and “what’s happening in Tauranga is no different to anywhere else”.
Those responsible for the bad behaviour were “a small percentage”.
Sport Bay of Plenty sport development adviser Trudi Kemp said it was not aware of a recent significant increase in aggressive sideline behaviour. It took reports of this seriously, however, and was willing to help organisations, codes or clubs improve such situations.
“Aggressive sideline behaviour has no place at sporting events, especially when children are involved,” Kemp said.
“The value of sport for children can be wide-reaching, with potential physical, social, cognitive and educational benefits. The behaviour of adults should not act as a barrier.”
Sport Bay of Plenty was involved in the development of a positive sideline environment for several codes throughout the region.
“To achieve this we must educate our fans, parents, participants and coaches on what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour whilst playing or observing sport.”
The organisation was also involved in Good Sports, a Sport New Zealand culture change initiative.
Sporting bodies throughout New Zealand promote and create positive sporting experiences for children by educating and supporting key adult influencers in youth sport, particularly parents.
Netball New Zealand states on its website that many issues in youth sport stemmed from adult involvement. These issues included poor sideline behaviour which could hinder success on and off the court.
Good Sports, in partnership with Aktive and Sport New Zealand, is funded by New Zealand Community Trust and AUT.
Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.
