Mike Summerell: NZ School Sport CEO on rowing officials banning year 14 students from competing in the Maadi Cup regatta

Rowing officials have banned allowing what are effectively year 14 students —once referenced as "eighth-formers"— from competing at the premier annual Maadi Cup regatta after decades of angst. 

The practice would sometimes see pupils spend more time grunting away in skiffs than studying in the classroom during the opening term of the year. 

New Zealand School Sport boss Mike Summerell told Mike Hosking a resolution was found. 

He says it came down to the idea of what’s fair.  

Summerell says that their rules have always been that if you’re at school, you should be able to reap the benefits of everything that comes with school. 

However, he says, while they believe sport is an incredibly important part of school, it’s not part of the education curriculum, and that allows sports to set rules that allow for a level playing field.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you kids serve ever road, you'll be in some way,
shape or form being immersed in the Mardy Cup experience.
But for years there's been a question over so called
year Fourteen's looks like it's been sort in school Sports.
New Zealand CEO Mike summerules with us on this Mike Morning.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
To you, Good morning Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Where did this come from and how was it justified?
For all these years?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yeah, I think it's been a conversation inside it Bing
in particular for many, many years, far before my time.
I think it's come down to that idea of what's fair.
An extra year of rowing has been defined by a
lot of people is not fair in terms of coming
back and getting what you need and moving on. And

(00:39):
some principles had decided enough was enough and called for
a special general meeting. And the outcome of probably a
long drawn out process was that most principles and most
members of New Zealand Schools Rowing Association principles have decided
that they want to all put in place that limits that.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
And so was that the principles or was it the association.
My understanding was there was a great deal of concern
about the association.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, look, I think that through that meeting some things
didn't go very well. I think New our School's Rowing
Association would agree with that as well, and some principles
did pull out a vote of no confidence against that group,
which was unfortunate for probably everybody involved. It's not something
that you like to see happen. But the outcome that

(01:29):
probably a lot wanted came about. So that group is
still there in providing leadership.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
If it was an open rule, why wasn't it fear
then for everyone. You may not like it, but I
mean if everyone could do it and they did do it,
then what was the problem.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, school Sport in New Zealand is the body that
provides governance overall secondary school sport and our eligibility rules
under nineteen at the first of January that aligns with
the Education Act, which defines educational need. It allows students
up to the age of nineteen, including the year that
they turn nineteen, to access free education. And our rules

(02:08):
have always kind of been that if you're at school,
you should be getting the benefits of everything that comes
with school. I guess the argument against that is sport
isn't actually part of the curriculum. We know it's a
really important part of school, but it's not part of
the educational curriculum. It's extra curricular and in that eligibility
allows you to set rules that allow for a level

(02:30):
playing field, and with that extra year of school. In
some cases and in some sports, it's been decided that
you need to limit those those pages.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Good on you, Mike, appreciate it. Mike Summerule, it's an
issue in netball. You'll follow American college football at a
issue in American college football. You got thirty three year
olds still doing their painting course at certain universities and
still allegedly eligible for more.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
From the Mic Asking Breakfast.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
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