Nine months after the Upper Clutha Rugby Club won $7000 in prizemoney for the Otago Rugby Football Union in a photo competition, the club has finally had a response to its ongoing attempts to find out how the funds were spent, following intervention by the Otago Daily Times.
Late last year, a photograph taken from the roof of the Upper Clutha clubrooms by the club's secretary, Kate Dowling, won a competition to find the most "iconic" rugby field in the South Island.
The competition was run by Christchurch Airport, as part of its South Island Gateway promotional drive for the Rugby World Cup. The $10,000 prizemoney was split three ways: $1000 to Miss Dowling, $2000 to the club - which was spent on development of its youth teams - and $7000 to the ORFU.
The Christchurch Airport specified the $7000 be put towards youth development rugby and asked the club to report back on the ORFU spending.
Club captain Ian Brown, who feared the money had been "misused" in other areas, said up until last week, he had received "absolutely nil response" to his many and varied attempts to find out how the ORFU used the money.
"I've emailed them [ORFU] on four or five occasions. I wrote a formal letter to them. I have rung them at least two times and the Christchurch Airport has been trying to contact them, too," Mr Brown said.
However, shortly after the Otago Daily Times contacted the ORFU for comment last week, Mr Brown received a phone call from ORFU community rugby manager Richard Perkins, who apologised for the lack of response and offered to provide, in writing, a description of how the $7000 was used.
Mr Brown said the club was still disappointed its requests for information had been ignored for so long and that there had been no consultation with the club on the best way to spend the money.
"But I have to take that as absolution."
