Sports Disputes Tribunal Launched

Sport and Recreation Minister Trevor Mallard is impressed with the calibre of the seven members of the Sports Disputes Tribunal announced today by SPARC.

The tribunal members include former yachting chief executive Adrienne Greenwood and NZ cycling great Ron Cheatley.

“The huge breadth of sport experience is accompanied by two senior and experienced Queens Counsel – Kit Toogood QC and Nicholas Davison QC,” Trevor Mallard said.

The full seven member panel is made up of a combintation of legal and sporting expertise. The members are Kit Toogood QC (deputy chair), Nicholas Davidson QC (deputy chair), Tim Castle, Farah Palmer, Ron Cheatley, Carol Quirk and Adrienne Greenwood. The Sports Disputes Tribunal will be chaired by Rt Hon E W (Ted) Thomas DCNZM QC who was appointed in December.

The Sports Disputes Tribunal was one of the recommendations in the 2001 Ministerial Review into Sport, Fitness and Leisure, Getting Set for an Active Nation.

“It is good to see that SPARC has worked through a process of identifying exactly where the needs lie and are putting a system in place that will deal with disputes in a credible manner.”

SPARC undertook an independent review last year that demonstrated there are about 46 disputes or cases (on average) per year at a national level involving various disputes. They include: doping (about 10-15 annually), selection, harrassment, misconduct on and off the field, disputes about the rules of a sporting competition, disputes about contracts, constitutions and other matters.

The Sports Disputes Tribunal will be operational from 1 April 2003.

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