Otago rugby is waiting patiently to decide what to do with its Silver Lake windfall.
The Otago Rugby Football Union reported a $956,793 profit at its annual meeting at the Dunedin club last night, but that figure was almost solely due to the one-off distribution of $1 million from New Zealand Rugby following the private equity deal it cut last year.
A budgeted deficit of $14,000 turned into an operating loss of $43,207.
That reflected "the reality of operating in a post Covid-19 environment and the increased fixed costs that most if not all businesses are facing", the union said in the annual report.
The Silver Lake deal not only granted the ORFU $1 million but pumped $420,000 directly into rugby clubs across the province, chairman Peter McCormack said.
The grant would help the union, which is on a sound financial footing these days with net equity of $1.4 million (not including the Silver Lake cash), grow its cash reserves.
"The balance is being held in the meantime as we consider what the longer-term and continuing benefits might be from Silver Lake, rather than exhaust those funds on a short-term project and then have to cease that project," he said.
"The board continues to take a cautious approach to decision-making to balance financial sustainability with the investment required to successfully deliver rugby across the province."
McCormack said the ORFU was looking at a "base operating budget" for the 2023 financial year but the allocation of the Bledisloe Cup test in August would help boost the coffers.
He said the board’s strategic plan review last year had been "very honest and, at times, brutal" as the union considered its major areas of focus for the future.
Chief executive Richard Kinley reported Otago players were last year at 7964 — 2086 seniors, 1975 teenagers and 3903 juniors.
That was a slight decrease from 2021, due mainly to a drop in Rippa rugby numbers at primary schools.
An increased focus on coach and referee recruitment, retention and education led to a 16% lift in coaching numbers (528, up from 456) and a 10% increase in registered referees (112, up from 102).
That coincided with Otago being one of three provincial unions to enter a two-year trial with NZR that included more financial support for coach education and mentoring, Kinley said.
