NZ Herald coverage on Spring's Premier Women's Team

You may have seen the coverage of our Club in the NZ Herald today. 

We want to assure all members that the Club is completely committed to the women’s game and a long term plan to develop the girls’ and women’s program. The breakdown in the relationship with the Premier Women’s team is a disagreement on how we get closer to parity for the women’s program and how fast.

Both parties have agreed to enter into independent mediation. We are seeking to have a constructive conversation with the Premier Women’s team on how to ensure that Springs is a great environment for girls’ and women players. 

The Club acknowledges that the issues raised by the women’s team could have been handled better.  We are an amateur club run by volunteers who give up many hours a week to fundraise, maintain the facilities and organise games. These volunteers have found it difficult to reach an understanding on these complex matters with the women’s team. 

The club would like to stress that there are a significant number of incorrect facts, figures and statements in the article around funding, physio, strength and conditioning and assistant coaches. Mediation will assist us in correcting these misunderstandings.

Pay parity and support for women’s sport is a global issue across all codes and this has now come to our doorstep. We are taking this issue seriously and see it as an opportunity to get a shared understanding about what this means for all parties.

Your ongoing support of the Club is appreciated and we will keep you informed of the outcome of this process.  

Thank you for your understanding. 

Grant Ramsay                      Spencer Turner                        Tony Jones

Executive Club Chair           Junior Club Chair                      Senior Club Chair