Sport’s Role in Our Society | Thomas Nabbs | TEDxRuakura
Summary
TLDRIn this heartfelt narrative, the speaker reminisces about the profound impact of sports, particularly rugby, on his life from a young age. He recounts the excitement of watching the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup and the inspiration drawn from players like Zan Brock. The speaker emphasizes the importance of sports in fostering community, leadership, and personal growth. He shares his current work with the Waterboy organization, which aims to break down barriers to sports participation, especially for underprivileged children. The story of Raiden, a young man whose life changed positively through boxing, illustrates the transformative power of sports. The speaker calls for a more inclusive approach to sports broadcasting to inspire and engage all children in New Zealand.
Takeaways
- 🏆 The speaker fondly recalls watching the New Zealand All Blacks play in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in 1995, highlighting the impact of sports heroes like Zan Brock on his childhood.
- ❄️ The narrative starts on a chilly winter morning, setting the scene for the speaker's early morning adventure to watch a crucial rugby match.
- 🏠 The speaker's excitement was so great that he woke up early and quietly left his house to watch the game, illustrating the deep passion for rugby.
- 📺 The importance of television in shaping sports dreams is emphasized, as it allows children to witness sports at a high level and dream of emulating their heroes.
- 🏉 Rugby is presented as a vehicle for teaching important life lessons such as leadership, teamwork, and respect, which the speaker carried into adulthood.
- 🌟 The speaker's work with the Waterboy organization aims to break down barriers and provide opportunities for all Kiwis to participate in sports, regardless of their background.
- 👨👧👦 Sports are depicted as a great equalizer, fostering camaraderie and unity among players from diverse backgrounds, and teaching valuable social skills.
- 🚫 The speaker criticizes the exclusivity of sports broadcasting in New Zealand, arguing that it excludes many children from developing a love for sports and the associated benefits.
- 📈 The script points out a decline in rugby participation at the amateur level, suggesting that exclusive broadcasting deals may be contributing to this trend.
- 🌐 The speaker calls for a shift towards more inclusive sports broadcasting models, using the example of Australia's Big Bash cricket league, which balances free-to-air and subscription viewing.
- 💪 The narrative concludes with a call to action, urging for collective efforts to ensure that all New Zealanders, especially children, have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from sports.
Q & A
What significant event was taking place on the morning of mid-June 1995, as described in the script?
-The All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team, were playing the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup.
Who was the narrator's favorite player on the All Blacks team during the 1995 Rugby World Cup?
-The narrator's favorite player was Zan Zan Brock.
What was the emotional impact of Zan Zan Brock's drop kick in the semi-final on the narrator?
-The drop kick by Zan Zan Brock from 40 meters out in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup left a lasting impression on the narrator, which they claim will live with them for many years.
What values did the narrator learn from playing rugby and how did it influence their life?
-The narrator learned lessons of leadership, humility, teamwork, and respect from playing rugby, which stayed with them into adulthood and influenced their career and social interactions.
What is the name of the organization the narrator works for and what is its purpose?
-The narrator works for an organization called the Waterboy, which aims to break down barriers and give Kiwis an opportunity to participate in sports.
How does the narrator believe sports can change the course of a child's life?
-The narrator believes sports can change a child's life by providing friendship, teaching character-shaping lessons, improving physical health, and breaking down social barriers.
What is the issue the narrator raises about sports broadcasting in New Zealand?
-The narrator raises the issue of sports governing bodies in New Zealand creating exclusive partnerships with pay television broadcasters, which excludes a significant population from watching sports and becoming fans.
What example does the narrator provide to illustrate the impact of sports on a young person's life?
-The narrator provides the example of Raiden, a 14-year-old who, after starting boxing, improved his behavior, attendance, and academic performance, and found purpose and belonging.
What does the narrator suggest as a solution to increase sports participation among New Zealand children?
-The narrator suggests that sports governing bodies should create partnerships with free-to-view television broadcasters to increase accessibility and inspire more children to participate in sports.
How does the narrator propose to address the issue of sports broadcasting exclusivity in New Zealand?
-The narrator proposes that sports governing bodies should follow the example of Australia's Big Bash, which uses a 50/50 model of free-to-view and subscription-based broadcasting to increase participation and popularity.
Outlines
🏉 Childhood Rugby Memory
The speaker recalls a vivid childhood memory of waking up at 3:30 a.m. in the winter of 1995 to watch the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team, play in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup. Despite the early hour, the excitement was palpable, and the speaker's family was deeply asleep. The speaker managed to sneak out to watch the game with a neighbor, an older man with a mustache, who welcomed the young boy into his home. The game was a significant event, and the speaker could name every player on the team, with a particular admiration for Zan Zan Brock. The narrative captures the essence of childhood dreams and the influence of sports heroes on shaping one's aspirations.
🏆 Lessons from Rugby
In this paragraph, the speaker reflects on the profound lessons learned from playing rugby, which have stayed with them into adulthood. These lessons include leadership, humility, teamwork, and respect. The speaker emphasizes how rugby has been a constant in their life, even as they lived in different cities like San Francisco and London. The sport has also helped the speaker make lifelong friends from around the world. Currently, the speaker works for a Purpose Driven organization called the Waterboy, which aims to break down barriers to sports participation. The speaker passionately believes that every New Zealander should have the opportunity to participate in sports, as it fosters friendship, character development, and breaks down social barriers.
🥊 Transforming Lives Through Sport
The speaker shares a story about Raiden, a 14-year-old who was struggling with behavior and attendance issues at school. Raiden's life took a positive turn when he started boxing. Through this sport, he found a new family, a sense of belonging, and purpose. His involvement in boxing led to improved attendance and academic performance. Raiden's story illustrates the transformative power of sports in providing at-risk youth with a positive outlet and a community. The speaker argues that sports can change the course of young lives and that every child should have the opportunity to participate, as it can lead to better health, social skills, and self-esteem.
📺 The Future of Sports Broadcasting
In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the future of sports broadcasting and its impact on sports participation, particularly in New Zealand. The speaker criticizes the exclusive partnerships between sports governing bodies and pay-TV providers, which limit access to sports for many, especially children from lower-income households. The speaker suggests that a 50/50 model of free-to-view and subscription-based broadcasting, as seen in Australia with the Big Bash cricket competition, could be a successful approach. The speaker calls for a change in the current broadcasting model to make sports more accessible and to encourage a healthier, more connected community. The speaker also questions the responsibility of various stakeholders, including the government, schools, and sports governing bodies, in ensuring that all children have the opportunity to participate in sports.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Rugby
💡All Blacks
💡Zan Zan Brock
💡Sportsmanship
💡Camaraderie
💡Waterboy
💡Inclusivity
💡Barriers to Participation
💡Social Integration
💡Mental Health
💡Community
Highlights
Excitement of a young boy waking up early to watch the All Blacks play in the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
The influence of sports heroes like Zan Zan Brooke on a child's dreams and aspirations.
The importance of sports in fostering a healthy lifestyle and developing leadership skills.
The transformative power of sports in building camaraderie and teamwork among young players.
The role of sports in breaking down social barriers and promoting inclusivity.
The personal journey of the speaker from playing rugby to working in sales and innovation.
The mission of the Purpose Driven organization, the waterboy, in promoting sports participation.
The benefits of sports in enhancing physical health, social skills, and self-esteem.
The impact of sports on community building and family bonding.
The challenges faced by underprivileged children in accessing sports and the opportunities it presents.
The story of Raiden, a teenager whose life changed positively through participation in boxing.
The broader societal benefits of having youth participate in sports, including improved mental health and reduced healthcare costs.
The call to action for sports governing bodies, schools, and charities to work together to increase sports participation.
Critique of exclusive partnerships between sports governing bodies and pay-TV networks, limiting access for many.
Comparative analysis of sports broadcasting models in Australia versus New Zealand and their impact on sports popularity.
The potential of online broadcasting to democratize sports viewing and increase accessibility.
The need for a collective effort to ensure all New Zealand children have the opportunity to dream and succeed through sports.
Transcripts
[Music]
it was mid June 1995 3:30 a.m. on a
chilly winters morning seven-year-old me
had hardly slipped that night his
excitement raced through my body earlier
my llama bleared at 2:55 a.m. now
pounced out a beard as if it were
Christmas Day my whole family was
sleeping so as quietly as I could I
fumbled around with the noisy back door
lock I opened the door and I was off
with one leap I cleared the three stairs
might be a feet landing on the frosty
lon and I sprinted as fast as I could
a quick 30 meter dash to the back of
that property as I approached the house
at the other side of the lawn a light
came on inside I skated up the stairs
and frantically knocked on the door the
curtains open and a man with a mustache
in his 50s unlocked the door the door
was opening too slowly for my liking so
I gave it some assistance forcing it
open even quicker as I entered there was
a heater burning inside at 60% I rolled
in like I own the place turn the heater
up to full as the old man gave me a cup
of hot chocolate I turned on the
television to hear the familiar sound of
Keith Quinn's voice and the national
anthems of New Zealand and England we
were of course watching the All Blacks
New Zealand's national rugby team
playing the semi-final of the Rugby
World Cup even as a seven-year-old boy I
could name every single member of their
all-black starting team my favorite
Patsy Goldie
Osbourne when we was changing the face
of rugby at that time but for me the
biggest hero of them all was one
particular man called zan zan Brock then
he was an amazing player he had all the
skills and no weaknesses it was very
much a poor loser but I liked that about
him when I was even in my eyes zili
could do no wrong and apart from my
Emily Zini was my hero it was about 3:30
a.m. on that fateful morning when Zhen
Zhen Brooke drop kicked a rugby ball
from 40 meters out in the semi-final of
a rugby World Cup now proceeding to
defeat for any Ford and rugby that
moment and how I felt in that moment
will live with me for many years yet no
what does a child have if a child
doesn't have dreams for their future
heroes they one day want to emulate
every child should have dreams for what
they one day want to become in achieve
every child is impression every child is
heavily influenced by the nurture and
environment for those children who are
lucky enough to grow up from privileged
families they have the opportunity to
watch sport on television whilst
watching that sport they start to look
up to the players they are watching they
start to imagine themselves when they
playing on television in front of large
crowds they start to develop a love for
sport and with a healthy lifestyle fast
for to 2004 from watch out for another
memory that I'd like to share with you I
still remember making the first tackle
it was a big smash them was an even
better physics and I won but I got lucky
the rest of their teenage team weighing
in at over 100 kg each they would go
laughs through out David it felt like
professionals miss images the last time
we meet these guys was only two weeks
prior and they wipe the floor with us
with the first thing of defeating the
screams of our coach JC and Kelly
roaring in areas we recouped together we
identified our weaknesses and
strengthened our faith in each other's
abilities now on a sunny day in August
in front of a screaming crowd we're
rallying to face these Giants stamp on
this game I remember coach Brian Higgins
roaring at his team of 22 young boys
I thought to myself I am I see we were
learning the meaning of camaraderie out
there on the rugby field there was no
prejudice there was no social rape
racial cultural or language inequalities
it was a test of your character your
courage your preparation your
cooperation and your skill that's what
mattered we won the championship that
day but the lessons that I took away
from that event were far greater than
any trophy the lessons of leadership
humility teamwork and respect ones that
would stay with me into adulthood they
stayed with me as rugby taught me to
live in San Francisco and London whereas
also ever work in sales and innovation
and make lifelong friends from different
parts of the world those lessons remain
with me as I've moved back to New
Zealand please pass on the gift of
empowerment and drive change you see
today I work in a Purpose Driven
organization called the waterboy
waterboy works to break down barriers to
give Kiwis an opportunity to participate
in sport at this point I do want to
acknowledge that sport isn't the only
method for achieving some of the
benefits that I've discussed but it's
what I'm passionate about so that's what
I focus on I believe that every Kiwi
should have the opportunity to
participate in sport Sport gives us
friendship and teaches us lessons which
help shape our character in this sense
it's a large part of what makes up the
fabric of New Zealand society sport
gives us mutual health benefits physical
health benefits leadership skills social
skills interpersonal skills self
confidence self esteem self motivation
not only those self things
it breaks down social barriers to give
us respect for others other races
religions people from different culture
cultures in different sectors of society
Sport brings friends and family together
the
ride the emanates from a parent when
they watch their child participate in
sport can't really be described in words
today there are thousands of Kiwis who
wish they could participate in sport but
they are unable it breaks my heart
I think this sucks always ask the kids I
work with who their favorite players are
only about 10% of them can even name a
current representative in their sport
I've asked 19 nipple girls to name me
their favorite Silver Fern a national
netball team one of the 19 was able to
do so that was because that player had
visited her school see without the means
to watch sport these children never had
the opportunity to witness the unique
atmosphere of top-level sport the same
atmosphere which captures the
imagination of privileged children
prompting them to dream and do the same
atmosphere which made me want to play
rugby on the front Warner any given
opportunity pretending hours in Zen
brought the kids I work with they'll
give supported go because it's fun and
because it's cool but without the
opportunity to develop those sporting
dreams heroes desperations they're far
more likely to give up on sport even if
they only have one bad experience but
when these kids do participate in sport
it can quite literally change the course
of their lives avoids with many kids
whose lives have now taken a different
direction and a lot of what's their
tribute to participating in sport well
she would be one of those examples when
I first started working with Raiden he's
aged 14 he'd been asked to leave his
previous high school for behavior in
attendance issues and he was a 50% of
team that said his new hospital hit a
group of friends and together they would
hang out after school looking for
trouble mainly out of boredom
he's no purpose no goals
nothing to be proud of since starting
boxing Raiden's has become part of a new
team and part of a new family he gets
the adrenaline rush he was previously
seeking on the streets after school he's
accepted and respected by himself and
his peers and he respects others pace to
respect others when you're new at box
uno and here are the flow-on effects
Raiden now his purpose he's decided to
stop associating with the people who
used to hang out with that school he's
always known he'll get into trouble with
him but before he didn't here now if he
gets into trouble
let's stop some boxing now he comes
straight home from school and he gets
rested and ready for training
he has 100% attendance and he excels in
the classroom he's called five out of
five for all but one of his subjects and
there's Leigh the school report I think
that's pretty remarkable his focus on
boxing is living to learn more about
nutrition
he eats healthier gives them better
performance in all areas of his life not
just boxing Raiden feels a valued member
of the water boy team and of the Boxing
Gym
he helps others were possible by
contributing to charity fundraising days
in helping new members to the gym feel
accepted and welcome Raiden's realizing
his potential and as he does so he
realizes he is even more potential doors
keep opening success breeds success
isn't it within the everybody's best
interests to have a youth kids like
Raiden participating in sport the old
saying an ounce of prevention is worth a
ton of cure is very relevant to this
question having our youth participate in
sport will create efficiencies to save
the taxpayer billions not only on a
healthcare system which is currently
experiencing a huge spike in mental
health issues but less obvious and
benefits will come to the for a
generation more versed and
person-to-person communication and
emotional intelligence more confident
loving and tolerant generation is
clearly a vested interest for us all to
have our youth given the opportunity to
participate in sport even a few
motivation comes from self-centered
origins who then needs to take
responsibility the increasing problem of
our youth not having the best
opportunity to participate in sport the
government schools sport governing
bodies or privately founded charities
such as the waterboy the answer is all
of the above we all need to work in
Symphony as a team ironically to achieve
the best results but within that
Symphony I see an opportunity to make a
dramatic difference with relatively
little resource and effort that change I
want to direct your attention to us
governing bodies it is the purpose of
any sports governing body to increase
their sports participation and
popularity within its catchment area
today just over 27% of New Zealand
children grow up in a household
experiencing income poverty here's the
keeper by creating exclusive
partnerships with subscribe to view
television broadcasters such as Sky TV
and New Zealand our sport governing
bodies are excluding a significant
population the opportunity to watch
sport and therefore become a fan nipple
and rugby in particular are dying a
fastest by player numbers in amateur
level don't be fooled by New Zealand
rugby telling you their player numbers
are increasing whilst it's technically
correct their numbers being inflated by
a welcome surge and popularity of female
sports the ability
females to now play rugby at the
Olympics and the black ferns our
national female race I mean professional
earlier this year but ask any rugby club
they'll gravely tell you they now field
half as many teams in the male division
as they did 15 years ago and they are no
longer at the heart of the community
continued exclusive subscribe to view
partnerships have been like a drag for
rugby in this country if a TV can do
that to rugby a sport with such a
cultural stronghold in this country what
damage is it doing to the ability for
other sports to reach their potential
audiences I've come to realise the sky
TV is effectively based golden handcuffs
on our sport governing bodies
now Australia is the closest country to
New Zealand and culture and therefore a
good point of reference for comparison
be it by good luck or good planning this
book governing executives seem to have
found a winning television sports sports
broadcast formula a 50/50 split between
free to view and subscribe to view
broadcasting Big Bear Korea one of the
most talked about sports competitions
and recent Australian history it's
reached unprecedented levels of success
popularity and crowd attendance
interestingly Big Bash launched free to
air in 2011 Cricket Australia have now
taken big bash and moved to the 50-50
model that getting more gold out of the
eggs whilst not killing the goose
they're just putting on a diet sport
broadcasting is about to take a paradigm
shift from television to online I'm
hugely encouraged to see that with their
shift
a handful of all Blake's games are going
to be free to view in the 2019 Rugby
World Cup but three or four games once
every four years
is not enough can we rely on our sport
governing bodies to make the best
decision for all of us although the
golden handcuffs too tight do we need to
use our voice to give them some
encouragement do we want to give New
Zealand children the opportunity to
develop sporting dreams heroes and
aspirations to make a more connected
healthier community to take us forward
for years to come do we want to help
kids like Raiden to find purpose
belonging enjoyment and mana do we wish
to give the opportunity to 700d zealand
kids to form lifelong memories of
watching the zen zen brought with their
grandfather if you like me think that
New Zealand is a
three where people should have a chance
an opportunity to succeed and it's time
we realized there's a problem and it's
time we start discussing solutions to
make them more connected healthier
community for everybody thank you
you
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