Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Table Tennis NZ recognises Te Tiriti o Waitangi as Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document and is committed to upholding the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the principles of Partnership, Protection and Participation.
Policy 8: Participant Poaching
Participant poaching shifts the focus from enjoyment of table tennis, to winning and losing. It does not align with Table Tennis NZ’s values and may harm Table Tennis NZ’s reputation and standing in the table tennis community. We want to protect the integrity of Table Tennis and ensure everyone understands participant poaching is unethical and is not tolerated at Table Tennis NZ. Table Tennis NZ representatives will communicate ethically, openly, and honestly with other participants, clubs/organisations and their representatives.
Purpose
This policy aims to:
- Outline acceptable and unacceptable behaviours in relation to the recruitment of participants
- Provide a process to deal with participant poaching at Table Tennis NZ and its affiliated table tennis organisations
Application
This policy applies to all representatives of Table Tennis NZ and its affiliated table tennis organisations. This includes as a participant, employee, contractor or volunteer, player, official (referee or umpire), Board or committee member or office holders, administrator, coach, supervisor, manager, member, caregiver, parent, whānau or supporter.
What is poaching?
Participant poaching is where a club/organisation representative approaches a participant for the purpose of encouraging them to join their club or compete for them. This can happen directly or indirectly, including face-to-face, by phone, text message, email, or social media, or by asking another person to make contact for that purpose. Participant poaching is not tolerated at Table Tennis NZ as a method of recruitment. It is also unacceptable for representatives of Table Tennis NZ or Member Clubs to entice or threaten a participant, or parent/guardian/whānau of a participant, who is registered with another club, for the purpose of encouraging them to join a Member Club or compete for it.
What is not poaching?
It is not poaching where a participant, or their parent/guardian/whānau contacts Table Tennis NZ or a Member Club, seeking to join or compete for it, provided they were not influenced in any way, directly or indirectly, by any of its representatives. Publicly advertising Table Tennis NZ’s or a Member Club’s table tennis programmes or for participant recruitment/registration is not poaching. Where a Member Club wishes to recruit a participant from another club/organisation for a specific tournament or competition, it will make direct contact with that participant’s club/organisation to seek permission. No representative will talk to the participant, or their parent/guardian/whānau, without permission from the club/organisation they are registered to. Where a participant who is registered with another club/organisation indicates to another Member Club they wish to join, or attend its trainings, tryouts, or other event, the receiving Member Club will advise that club/ organisation, where possible, but will not limit that participant’s ability to attend.
Breach
Individuals who wish to report an alleged breach of this policy should follow the complaints procedure outlined in Policy 19: Complaints, Disputes and Appeals Policy.
Player transfer process
There is a process that registered players must follow when transferring from affiliated Association to Association. The process is outlined on the Table Tennis NZ website.
The process for transfer must occur at least 50 days preceding the date on which the representative contest is held.
There is only one transfer per player/per calendar year, for reasons other than residential change.
Table Tennis NZ will facilitate communication between the current Association and the requested new Association to determine whether there are any outstanding matters or monies owed that would restrict this transfer. Table Tennis NZ will then communicate the decision of the requested Association to either confirm or deny the player transfer request at the instruction of the Association. Table Tennis NZ does not influence or decide the player transfer request, the role of TTNZ is simply to facilitate communication between its member Associations.
Version: February 2025