Community sport is a beautiful thing. It gives many children the opportunity to be a part of a team, improve fitness and coordination, use up their endless energy while all the time having a huge amount of fun. For some, it’s also an opportunity to chase their dreams. Many go on to play through their teenage years and into adulthood. It improves mental and physical wellbeing and can help keep kids out of trouble. Sport is a great thing for people personally and for society on a wider level.

It is with sadness and frustration that I see Tauranga City Council proposing through their Long Term Plan to massively increase fees to use community sports fields. For example, Tauranga City AFC has stated the facility fees are more than a 2000% increase on what they’re paying at the moment. Astronomical. Community sports clubs and organisations already do a lot with a little, so placing enormous fee hikes on them will either force them to close or pass a considerable portion of the costs on to players and parents through increased subs. This will inevitably stop some people playing the games they love.

People aren’t endless money pits and sport, like our community service providers and our artistic community, are an essential part of any well-functioning city. There have already been many community submissions against the proposed fee hikes, and so there should be! Let’s enable people to play sport in Tauranga for the benefit of our kids and our society.