This week I want to talk about the seven-year itch; that psychological term that suggests happiness in a relationship declines after about seven years.
Seven years is a long time for any athlete to be at the top of their game, and many professional athletes are fortunate if they have a career that spans a decade. Every athlete has to decide when it is time to retire and often it is easier if they make the decision when to exit stage left.
Seven years ago, I was asked to write a column for the Otago Daily Times and I feel that now is a good time to move on. This parting of the ways is not necessarily due to unhappiness, but more a realisation that maybe it's time for someone else's ideas and opinions to be expressed.
For seven years, almost every week I had the luxury of exploring whatever fascinating and topical issues in sport appealed to me. I aimed to provide a perspective that was authentic and unique.
We are all influenced by our values, experiences, and perspective and so my thoughts tended to reflect my rugby and research background, the inspiration provided by the underdog beating the odds, the value of diversity in all its forms, the role of sport in challenging or reinforcing inequality, social issues in and around sport, and trying to explore ethical issues.
The debate about whether the Russian Olympic team should be banned from the Rio Olympics is a fine example of the kind of issue I enjoyed exploring. It is a classic case of ethical decision-making that occurs regularly in sport: should the IOC ban the entire Russian team to make a strong and swift statement about zero tolerance for systemic doping practices or should the rights of the individual Russian athletes who may be clean be considered?
To ban or not ban the Russian team also creates wider discussions about the rights of athletes all over the world to pursue excellence no matter what (should doping be sanctioned?) or the role of sport in promoting fairness and social good (doping is cheating and does not promote healthy choices).
All juicy stuff, with arguments for and against flying back and forth like a great tennis rally. The debate and drama surrounding doping was an issue seven years ago, and it is still topical and evident today.
Inequality and discrimination due to racism, sexism, sexuality and religion are also still very much alive at the elite levels of sport and at the grassroots.
"Ka whawhai tonu matou'', which translates as "struggle without end'', was the title of the late Ranginui Walker's influential book regarding issues of pertinence to Maori development in New Zealand.
Sport is also a "struggle without end'' because it is contested terrain - a "play'' that involves characters, scenes, a plot, directors, investors, a production crew, heroes and villains, a moral message, and last but not least an audience.
That is what makes it so intriguing and exciting. Sometimes the story is inspirational - like the recent story of Amy Turner, from Tokoroa, pursuing Olympic gold with the Australian women's sevens team.
At other times it is tragic - such as the fate of Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius who fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp and was eventually charged with murder.
Every now and then, I've felt like this column has created some small wins - like the time it raised awareness and a movement to raise funds for the Otago women's rugby team which was facing exclusion from the women's NPC because of a lack of funds.
There is never a dull day in the world of sport or in the world of sports journalism, and for that reason I will miss having the opportunity to share my thoughts with you on what has happened in sport from "far away''. Over and out but always about. Farah.
- Commitments both at home and at work means Farah Palmer will no longer be contributing her weekly column to the Otago Daily Times
