Our Process and Raising Concerns
From time-to-time things happen in sport that don’t feel right. Sometimes these issues can be a sign of a serious problem, but often they turn out to be relatively minor and can be easily resolved. To help resolve these issues, Archery NZ is committed to providing a clear, fair and consistent process for its members.
You can access our full Disputes and Disciplinary Policy here.
Please bear in mind that there may be other avenues for complaints or concerns: for example Anti-Doping, Match-fixing, Corruption must be lodged with the Sport Integrity Commission, and in regards to Selection complaints or appeals, you must contact the Sports Tribunal of NZ.
If you are not sure, send us a message and we can help put you in the right path.
Lodging an Appeal
An Appeal process is something started usually by an athlete or official (like coach or team manager) when a decision gets made they believe is wrong.
Tournament appeals:
In the event of an athlete not being satisfied with a ruling given by the Judges, the athlete may make an appeal to the Director of Shooting on the day. The intent to appeal must be made within 5 minutes of the end of the relevant round or match. The appeal must then be made within the next 15 minutes. A Jury of Appeal will be constructed, and dealt with in accordance to World Archery Rules.
The decision made by the Jury of Appeal is FINAL.
There may be a fee to pay to lodge an appeal.
You may download the appeal form here.
Exclusions:
Note: these are EXCLUDED from the Appeals process:
- Arrow Values. The Judges decision is final.
- Mistakes on Scorecards (see Article 17.1 in the World Archery rulebook)
- Team Rounds and a Yellow Card call. The Judges decision is final.
Selection Appeals:
If you have an appeal regarding selection or non-selection to an Archery NZ representative team, or NZOC or Commonwealth Games team, this is handled by the Sports Tribunal. Please review their process.
Raising a Concern
Step One: Concern or Complaint?
The first step of the process is to determine if an issue is a concern or a complaint. This is to help avoid using up valuable time and resources on issues that could be straightforward to resolve.
What is a concern?
Concerns are issues that people may be worried about but don’t warrant a formal complaint. All member clubs and members have an obligation to do all that is reasonable to resolve issues before they escalate to become formal complaints and we encourage individuals to take a common-sense approach and raise the concern directly with the person/people involved first.
If you are unable to do this, we recommend you raise the issue with your club. If the club feels that they need support with this concern, they can speak directly with Archery NZ.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is a formal statement relating to an allegation of misconduct. A complaint may be made by any member of Archery NZ, or a person on behalf of that member (with their consent).
What is misconduct?
Misconduct means any conduct by an Official, a National Representative, a Participant, an Individual Member, Life Member, Member Club or an Associate Member which:
- breaches any provision of the Laws of the Sport;
- deliberately loses or attempts to lose a Match or plays unfairly;
- breaches the Anti-Match Fixing Policy;
- at any event, function or activity of Archery NZ, either verbally, text, email, traditional media or social media uses any profane, indecent or improper language;
- at any time or place engages in offensive or insulting behaviour towards Archery NZ Member or any person acting for or on behalf of Archery NZ;
- breaches:
- any provision of the Constitution;
- any Regulations or policies of Archery NZ, including the Team Code of Conduct and Agreement and Member Protection Policy;
- any decision of a General Meeting, the Archery NZ Board or a Disciplinary Panel or any decision of any equivalent bodies at any Club;
- acts in a manner which brought, or could bring, Archery NZ into disrepute;
- acts in a manner unbecoming of a Member, or which is prejudicial to the Objects of Archery NZ;
- Abuses equipment, including but not limited to throwing or breaking a bow
- fails or refuses, for a period of one calendar month to pay any fine or monetary penalty imposed by Archery NZ or any authority under the jurisdiction of Archery NZ; and/or
- aids or abets any of the conduct specified above
Step Two: Making a formal complaint
A formal complaint can be made in writing. It should set out in as much detail as possible the nature of the alleged misconduct; the persons involved; the date(s) and time(s) on which the alleged misconduct occurred; the impact of the incident on the complainant and/or other persons; and what resolution is being sought.
Archery NZ acknowledges that in some circumstances it may be more appropriate for the complaint to be made via phone call or in person.
Archery NZ understands that in some circumstances it may be more appropriate for the complaint to be made via phone call or in person.
If you feel your issue cannot be dealt with effectively by Archery NZ, or you would prefer to raise the matter with an independent body, you can contact the Sport Integrity Commission Te Kahu Raunui.
Anonymous Complaints
To ensure that natural justice is observed, it is highly likely that complaints made anonymously will be dealt with as concerns. This is at the discretion of Archery NZ.
Step Three: What happens next?
Your complaint will be received and assessed by the Board of Archery NZ.
If the complaint is not deemed to be an Archery NZ matter it will be dismissed – and you will be informed of the reasons why.
If the complaint falls under the jurisdiction of Archery NZ, it will be dealt with based on the severity of the issue raised.
If you have had a complaint made against you, you are entitled to fill out the Defense form (below).
Withdrawing Complaints
Archery NZ has full discretion to proceed with a complaint regardless of whether the complaint has been withdrawn and in situations where the person who raised the complaint wishes to remain anonymous.