A couple of months ago, Tennis New Zealand invited 2 new OTF Board Members, Davina Hosking-Ashford(CI) and Florence Wasko (ASA) to take part in their ” New to Governance Programme.”
Background:
Tennis NZ is committed to increasing diversity within the governance of the sport. Based on a successful pilot last year, a further ‘new to governance’ programme is being be run in 2022 to support new directors and a pipeline of future directors.
Objectives:
The aim of the programme is to support the learning and confidence building of people on tennis boards new to governance roles. By the end of the programme, participants will
- Understand the role of the board
- Feel confident to ‘be themselves’ and actively participate in their board
- Feel motivated to continue in sports governance
Approach:
The programme will bring together a cohort of 6-8 participants from tennis boards across New Zealand and Oceania. The programme is open to new directors and board interns with less than 18 months experience in governance. Tennis NZ is covering the costs associated with the programme.
An experienced sports governor is facilitating a series of 5 video conference workshops over a period of 8 to 9 months. These workshops will address the fundamentals of governance, plus deep dive topics chosen by the participants, and will include guest panel lists from the tennis governance community. The approach will be ‘light touch’ in terms of preparation for each session. Participants are expected to complete the Sport NZ online ‘Governance 101’ tutorial, and some reading from time to time if relevant for a deep dive.
The programme sessions are spaced out to enable participants to have attended 1 or 2 board meetings between each. This will allow participants to reflect on real governance situations, and to bring live questions to the workshops. At the end of the programme, participants will be asked to provide feedback on the programme, and to share any recommendations for their own boards with their individual board chairs.
If budget allows, the participants will receive an invitation to the Tennis NZ annual workshop and AGM in November 2022 to meet face to face and share experiences. This will foster bonds between directors and future directors across New Zealand as well as injecting fresh thinking into the annual workshop.
Timing:
The programme commenced with a ‘kick off’ conversation in March, followed by the 5 workshop sessions. These will be scheduled as 90-minute zoom calls. Tentatively, these are envisaged being from 6-7.30PM on a Monday from April to October.