HAYDEN MEIKLE: How long have you been involved with Sport Otago?
CLARE KEARNEY: I was appointed on to the board in 2012. For the year prior to that, I'd been involved in a steering group with Sport Waitaki. Last year, I was appointed deputy chair of Sport Otago. And now I'm the chair.
HM: You're the first woman to hold the role. Is that significant for you?
CK: Well, I'm pleased, but it's not a driver to be in the role. We've had some fantastic chairmen in the past. I have some big shoes to fill.
HM: Why do you think Sport Otago is an important organisation?
CK: Its purpose is to get more people more active more often. So sport is one aspect of that. The organisation cuts across codes and demographics as well. We have fundamental movement programmes in preschool, activities in primary schools, and involvement right up from there. The aim is to have people feeling confident that they can pick up a tennis racquet or a hockey stick or a ball or whatever. And they don't have to be a high-performance athlete. We just want them to have the confidence to get involved. And I think Sport Otago's well positioned to target a whole range of people.
HM: We hear so much about kids having less involvement in sport. But I think Otago has some pretty good participation rates, doesn't it?
CK: Yes, and Central Otago in particular is a very active region. That's a real positive for us. There are drop-offs after secondary school and into the early 20s. That's a nationwide issue.
HM: Kids can now choose from dozens and dozens of sports at school. But do you have any concerns that some of the traditional New Zealand sports, like cricket and tennis, are suffering because kids are being directed into these newer sports?
CK: Again, that trend is happening right across the country. People are looking at what they want to do with their free time. It's probably left some sporting clubs struggling to find people for committees and that sort of thing. That's certainly a problem. I think individual codes are trying to address that but it's not an easy solution. It's a demographic change. But it's an ebb and flow thing. Individual codes need to think about how they can stay relevant.
HM: What did you play?
CK: I always get asked that. All sorts, really. Netball and basketball at school, and then I took up hockey at university. I joined Maf and went to Southland and played hockey down in the Waikaka mud. I played basketball and hockey when we shifted to North Otago. I've done a bit of running - the Motatapu and as part of a Challenge Wanaka team.
HM: What about golf? Everybody turns to golf, eventually.
CK: I did try golf. They had a nine-hole ladies introduction so I went along to that. It's a very frustrating game, especially for a hockey player.
HM: How long have you lived in North Otago?
CK: We shifted here in the teeth of the 1989 drought. I was working as a farm adviser for Maf and my husband, Kevin, was a vet. We've got our own property, so I work on that. I also chair the board of Network Waitaki, and I'm on a couple of other smaller trusts.
HM: How many kids?
CK: Four. Patrick is 23, twins Johannah and Caitlin are 20, and Christopher is a rising 18-year-old. New Year's Eve is his birthday.
HM: All into sport?
CK: They've all been involved in sport, particularly rowing. As a mum, it's required an awful lot of food preparation. All the rowing mums say that.
HM: Johannah, especially, has had success in rowing. How have you enjoyed watching her rise through the ranks?
CK: It's been a privilege and a pleasure to watch how hard she has worked to get where she is, as it is to see what all our kids are doing. Rowing is a particularly hard sport.
HM: Has she inherited dedication and drive from her parents?
CK: We've been there to support her. I wouldn't say we're overly competitive. As a family, we don't have races or anything. But for all the children, we've just tried to support them in what they want to do.
HM: Did you or Kevin row at all?
CK: My claim to fame in rowing was winning an Easter tournament at Lincoln. Kevin did some corporate rowing. It really started through school. Patrick started, the twins had a group of friends whose brothers were rowing so they gave it a go, and then Christopher had no choice because we were all there.
HM: Johannah was in a crew that won silver at the world under-23 championships in Italy this year. Were you there?
CK: Yeah, it was great. There were something like 80 New Zealand supporters. We all had black T-shirts. When we shouted, it sounded like there were 300 of us. And when we sang the national anthem, it sounded like there were three of us.
The other members of the Sport Otago board are Kathy Grant (deputy chairwoman), Tim Dunn, Kerry Seymour, Werner van Harselaar, Cherie McConville, Jane Mitchell and Darel Hall.
