It’s been another year of domestic dominance from the Wellington Blaze. The capital’s cricketers burned through their season to secure their finals spot, 10 points clear of their nearest opposition. Despite this, fans of the women’s side had to wait for a result in a competition they don’t necessarily watch - the latest round of the men’s tournament determining the location of the women’s final.
It’s a tradition in sport that the top qualifier secures a home advantage for the final. Perhaps I should say it’s a tradition in men’s sport, as for women such an incentive is not always assured. Newly-established competitions have offered certainty to fans over an advantage to teams in their playoffs. The first two years of the Super Rugby Aupiki have had a predetermined location for their finals. So too the Tauihi Basketball League.
Such a move makes sense when you are still establishing your fan base. Particularly in the case of the spectacularly short Aupiki seasons, where there is little time to establish your potential finalists. Travelling at short notice comes with a steep cost so of course you would want to remove all preventable barriers to fan engagement. Mark Robinson pledged at the end of last year to make rugby more fan-centric. Naturally, this means Aupiki is going with a home final this season thus introducing uncertainty around its location. While home finals may not be traditional in women’s sport, uncertainty is. This move then plays to that storied tradition.
The one Farah Palmer Cup premiership final I had the privilege of playing in had my Wellington team facing Auckland in Napier. The location was announced after the semi-finals with no thought of the fans who might wish to attend. This staging was ultimately a money saver for organisers as the broadcast was already scheduled to be set up there for an unrelated men’s match. This is likely the same reasoning behind the Blaze’s trip to Auckland. It’s one set up for the broadcaster and ensures one location for key stakeholders to attend.
Both of these examples position the men’s games that day as the default. For all the spin in the re-branding of curtain raisers as doubleheaders, it’s the women’s match that works around the plans for the men’s games. This clearly defines women as the understudies to the men’s headline act. In the case of the upcoming Blaze match, their opposition too will have no connection with the venue of their final. This means all women’s fans will be travelling to take part.
