Editorial: Community sport volunteers deserve support - not abuse

Kids lose when adults can't control themselves at sports events. Photo / 123RF

Editorial

EDITORIAL

If an adult can’t watch a children’s sporting fixture without hurling abuse at referees, rival spectators or coaches – and indeed without finding their emotions so charged they end up in a fight – then they really shouldn’t be anywhere near children playing sport.

The often unnamed and unthanked volunteers who make kids’ sport possible throughout our community are among our greatest heroes.

For every bunch of kids running on to a field for organised sport, there are coaches, referees, managers, and sideline parents who make sure everyone has transport, and oranges at halftime. There are committee members who spend countless hours on organising and sustaining their clubs – often with hectic fundraising, from sausage sizzlesto applying for complex charity grants.

Without them, our future Football Ferns, Warriors, All Blacks, Olympians and Black Caps would have a tougher road to building careers in sport.

Of course, the vast majority of kids don’t go on to be top-flight professionals in their chosen code; sport can be equally important in their lives bringing fun, friendships and fitness. All of that is lost without the efforts of volunteers.

Many Kiwis were disturbed this week to learn about two incidents involving alleged assaults at community sports events in Auckland – one involving a referee in a men’s rugby game and the other a female football coach of an under-10s girls’ team.

Police are investigating both incidents.

Banter and high emotions are a natural part of sport that should be encouraged. But sideline abuse can have no place in our sporting environment.

The behaviour we exhibit when we’re in the crowd at a sports event – whether it’s grassroots or top-flight – is noted and mimicked by those around us, particularly young people. Abusing a referee? Don’t be surprised if the kids around you follow suit. And don’t be surprised if, later in life, they think hurling abuse at strangers is okay.

This is not a new subject. In 2015, Sport NZ called for parents on the sideline to be mindful of how their behaviour affected others. Individual sports clubs have a responsibility to ensure their supporters are not letting the teams down on the sideline and that their players are behaving appropriately on the field.

But final accountability must rest with individuals. If you’re on the sideline at kids’ sport, take a moment to think about your own behaviour.

If those volunteers are fearful for their safety, they’ll find other things to do with their time – and who could blame them? The kids that once benefited from the altruistic efforts of coaches and referees will be the losers.