Hawke's Bay - Sports Clubs  

Anecdotal evidence suggests that people drink heavily in sports clubs in New Zealand.&nbsp;&nbsp;<A href="http://www.sportnet.co.nz/" target=_blank>Sportnet NZ </A>undertook a pilot programme to reduce alcohol-related harm in sports clubs. They&nbsp;contracted Sport Hawke's Bay to deliver the programme using&nbsp;its access to sporting codes, clubs, coaches and players.&nbsp;&nbsp;<BR><BR>The objectives of the campaign were to:<UL><LI>raise the level of awareness of the effects of alcohol on sporting performance<LI>encourage a reduction in heavy drinking associated with sports clubs <LI>encourage the implementation of Host Responsibility policies and practices in clubrooms </LI></UL>The programme consisted of two parts.&nbsp; The first was to establish safer drinking environments by implementing&nbsp;Host Responsibility practices. The second&nbsp;was to educate coaches and athletes on the effects of alcohol on sporting performance. Staff at Sport Hawke's Bay developed two training res

Anecdotal evidence suggests that people drink heavily in sports clubs in New Zealand.  Sportnet NZ undertook a pilot programme to reduce alcohol-related harm in sports clubs. They contracted Sport Hawke's Bay to deliver the programme using its access to sporting codes, clubs, coaches and players.  

The objectives of the campaign were to:

• raise the level of awareness of the effects of alcohol on sporting performance
• encourage a reduction in heavy drinking associated with sports clubs
• encourage the implementation of Host Responsibility policies and practices in clubrooms

The programme consisted of two parts.  The first was to establish safer drinking environments by implementing Host Responsibility practices. The second was to educate coaches and athletes on the effects of alcohol on sporting performance. Staff at Sport Hawke's Bay developed two training resources based on these two programmes and implemented these over a one year period.

All the sports clubs in Hawke's Bay were invited to attend a Host Responsibility workshop.  Those that didn't attend the workshop were contacted and visited individually.  Of the 55 cubs in the region, 18 put a Host Responsibility policy in place.

The training workshop was delivered to bar managers or other relevant club personnel by Sport Hawke's Bay staff.  Club representatives then worked with Sport Hawke's Bay to implement their policies.

Coach and player education workshops were delivered to 107 people from a variety of sporting codes.  While considered successful, it was felt they might be better targeted at school-aged young people before they entered the sport-club scene.

While the project was outside the brief of what Sport Hawke's Bay would normally undertake, it provided an interesting extension of its role and an example of how the community can take up the challenge to work on alcohol-related harm.