Monthly Archives: August 2021

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Former elite cyclist Cassie Cameron with daughter Hazel.

I have always known the outside view of elite sport to be remarkably idealistic, and at complete odds with my own experience of it. I'd guess most athletes would agree it is not all sunshine and rainbows, as the media might have you believe. Ive only recently, though, understood just how flawed the internal view of sport can be.

Cycling NZ - and many of those who held powerful positions over my career constructed and encouraged a distorted version of reality where ones worth was measured only in medals and world records.

There was no attempt to restore any realistic perspective, to provide any meaningful guidance or tools to cope with the immense pressure of high performance sport. There was no real regard for mental or emotional wellbeing. Mental illness was not only ignored, but considered a liability. There was no acknowledgement, let alone encouragement, of goals and aspirations beyond the narrow confines of sport.

Teaukura Moetaua/Getty Images

Cassie Cameron competed for New Zealand at the UCI junior world track championships in 2012.

It is difficult to avoid being consumed by this chronic lack of perspective, and only a few years in the elite sporting environment can erode your sense of priorities. When performance is the only subject of any conversation, it soon becomes your only desire. All else is expendable; hobbies, interests, study, late nights, days off, holidays, friends, family. This is the only way to win, they say.

READ MORE:* Performance-based sports funding model has a lot to answer for* New Zealand finish UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Cambridge with eight medals* Kiwi pair Campbell Stewart and Tom Sexton win gold in Hong Kong

But, sooner or later, we stop performing, and our only aspiration our only sense of purpose - is out of reach. And then, in our moment of greatest disappointment and worthlessness, we are discarded into the pile of not-good-enough. With no support, no guidance, no concern. Not their problem, they say.

With hindsight, I can recognise how impressionable we were at that age. I can also recognise how misguided, and irresponsible, many of the decisions made by Cycling NZ were.

Throughout my cycling career, I was subjected to emotional manipulation, sabotage, sexual assault and psychological abuse at the hands of those who were presumed to support me. I have some fond memories, of course, though these are scattered between long, dark periods of inadequacy, hopelessness and disappointment. I sincerely hope that I was alone in this experience of the sport, but I am quite sure that Im not.

I left the sport more than six years ago, and have scarcely looked at my bike since. Now, it is merely a reminder of the grief and suffering I needlessly endured in an attempt to prove something - something I have since learned is of no tangible consequence to me or the rest of the world. Something that I became so hopelessly entangled within that I lost sight of who I was and who I wanted to be.

Years of work wasted in one wrong move. Months of heartbreak over unjustified selection decisions. Anger, resentment and, worst of all, dependence. Dependence on an organisation that actively ignores the wellbeing of its athletes. Dependence on a sponsor that uses support as leverage to control you. Dependence on your family to suffer the financial burden of your junior career. All for the chance to win that race.

This is the ugly, pernicious side of sport that no one wants to see, the side that is hidden behind the glamorous facade of Cycling NZ. The side that drives athletes into despondence and depression.

So many of the tributes to Liv Podmore spoke of her talent and athletic abilities, attributes that dont even cross my mind when I think about the person weve lost. I think of everything that she had before her, a life that she could have lived in whatever way she chose. A life filled with the little things that no one cares to read about in the papers, yet bring so much joy and fulfilment. A life that was lost because she was led to believe it was already over.

Cassie Cameron is a former New Zealand elite cyclist, who represented New Zealand at the World Junior Championships in 2011 and 2012. She retired from cycling in 2015 and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children, aged 4 and 8 months. She's now studying medicine fulltime.

Read more here:

Former elite New Zealand cyclist Cassie Cameron: My daughter will never be a cyclist - Stuff.co.nz

SA Rugby has put up its hand to host the remainder of the Rugby Championship after the tournaments immediate future was put in the balance when New Zealand unilaterally cancelled matches.

First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

The Springboks and Pumas rugby squads wont be leaving South Africa on 22 August as planned. They will remain in Gqeberha until a final decision on the future of the 2021 Rugby Championship is taken.

SA Rugby, one of the four partners in the Sanzaar alliance (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby), said it was willing to be the host to complete the schedule after it was thrown into turmoil on 20 August.

Sanzaar announced that the latest outbreaks of Covid-19 in Australia and New Zealand had caused massive disruption to the match schedule for the tournament following the tightening of regulations placed on travel and quarantine by various state and national governments, an SA Rugby statement read.

New Zealand announced that the planned matches against the Springboks in Auckland and Dunedin at the end of next month had been cancelled. And then, without informing their Sanzaar partners, [they] unilaterally issued a media release announcing they would not fly their team to Perth ... for a planned match against the Wallabies.

SA Rugby has good experience after hosting the recent British & Irish Lions tour and is well prepared to step in for the championship. But matches in SA would have to be played in empty stadiums under SAs current Covid Level 3 restrictions.

We have advised Sanzaar that we are ready and able to host the remainder of the competition in South Africa, pending our governments approval, said SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux.

But we are now well versed in turning on rugby Tests within the prevailing Covid-19 restrictions and have the venues and accommodation necessary. We just need the go-ahead.

Fluid situation

The annual Rugby Championship, featuring the southern hemispheres four leading international teams, was supposed to play out in Australia over the coming weeks. Perth was set to be the venue to host the four teams after New Zealand shut its doors owing to a Covid-19 lockdown.

But that plan hit a barrier harder than the Springbok defensive line when Western Australian premier Mark McGowan announced that the All Blacks would have to spend 14 days in quarantine before the scheduled 28 August meeting against the Wallabies in Perth.

But on 18 August, the Western Australia government issued new restrictions demanding that all travellers to the state spend 14 days in quarantine.

The All Blacks were not prepared to do this, and play the match a week later on the weekend of 3 September or play elsewhere in Australia such as in Brisbane, a city that doesnt require 14-day quarantines.

As a result of the cancellation of their scheduled clash against the Wallabies in Perth, the entire Rugby Championship was thrown into turmoil on top of an already fluid situation.

That move caught Rugby Australia (RA) by surprise and has raised the bad blood between the two nations. According to reports in Australia, RA asked New Zealand Rugby (the NZR) for three more hours to finalise details of moving the match to Brisbane, which it refused.

RA chief executive Andy Marinos accused the NZR of acting in bad faith after he learnt the news of New Zealands decision to cancel via the media.

Its incredibly disappointing to be informed of this decision via the media, despite having a conversation with the CEO moments before and there [being] no mention that this was the intention, Marinos said in a statement.

Despite this outcome, I am confident we will find a solution for the whole Rugby Championship in what continues to be a very challenging environment in which to work.

Wallaby coach Dave Rennie, who is a New Zealander, was less diplomatic: Im bloody angry were Rennies first words at a media briefing soon after the All Blacks decision was made.

Its disappointing how its been communicated. Our boys all found out through social media. NZ Rugby didnt even have the respect to consult RA about their decision, so thats hugely disappointing, he said.

Im not sure that shocked is the right word, because Im not surprised. I just feel theres only one of us who [is] interested in doing whats best for the game, Rennie said.

Weve all made sacrifices to ensure that the games are played for the financial benefit of everyone and the good of the game. If theyre playing the welfare card, well our NSW guys havent been home for eight weeks already with no clear end in sight either, with the likelihood that guys wont get home until late November.

NZs attitude to not honouring their commitment is really disappointing...

Unilateral action by NZR

SA Rugby and the Argentinean Rugby Union had until recently remained on the sidelines. But when Western Australia changed its guidelines, the Rugby Championship was left listing in uncertain waters.

The NZR, which has increasingly acted unilaterally since the pandemic started disrupting global sporting calendars last March, also unilaterally withdrew its teams from Super Rugby in July 2020.

Now it has placed the future of an entire tournament, which has already started, in jeopardy because it is unwilling to inconvenience All Blacks players and management.

Despite SA Rugbys offer it is unlikely that the All Blacks will accept it because the NZR does not want to play the 100th Test between the world champion Springboks and the All Blacks in South Africa. It was scheduled for Dunedin.

It is unclear at this stage whether the NZR could face sanctions if it refuses to complete the tournament if there is a plausible plan in place accepted by the other three members.

In 2020, SA Rugby decided not to send the Springboks to the tournament in Australia, citing player welfare concerns after the country had been in a lengthy lockdown. Players had been exposed to very little rugby at the time.

New Zealands players have been involved in various Super Rugby iterations, domestic competitions and 11 Tests in 2020 and 2021. They can hardly claim their players are not battle-hardened.

They could cite mental health issues because of pandemic restrictions, but if the tournament is in SA, there is no 14-day quarantine requirement.

Players and squads would need to remain in bio-bubbles, but it is the same for all of the squads. The All Blacks are not unique in that sense.

Sanzaar said it was currently working night and day with all stakeholders, and the tournaments associated commercial partners and rights-holding broadcasters, to find a suitable solution for the remaining matches.

Other options to complete championship

Options have been put on the table and there are three under consideration.

The first is to relocate the championship to Queensland. That state currently has milder restrictions than other states. The second is to move the remaining four match-day weekends to the UK, Ireland and France. The third is for the Wallabies and All Blacks to come to South Africa, since the Boks and Pumas are already in situ.

The problem with going ahead in Australia is that the situation is fluid. Considering how quickly Western Australia changed its policy, there is no guarantee Queensland wont follow suit at the slightest hint of a spike in Covid infections.

That makes the UK option more attractive. The Boks and Pumas squads would still have to go through 14 days of quarantine because South Africa remains on the UK red list, but they were going to do that in Perth anyway.

Another factor is that the UK government is unlikely to change its restrictions easily in the foreseeable future. A bonus is that fans could be allowed in stadiums, raising the possibility of additional income.

South Africa is on the downward trajectory of its third Covid-19 wave and could comfortably stage the remaining matches. There is almost zero chance of SA returning to Level 4 or above in the coming six weeks. There is also no lengthy quarantine required in South Africa, making it easier for the Wallabies and All Blacks to enter.

The downside is that those teams would need to spend 14 days in quarantine when returning home, or in the All Blacks case, continuing straight on to the UK for an end-of-season tour.

These are not insurmountable problems, but they require time, negotiation and finances. Sanzaar is certainly not flush with spare cash and it is almost out of time. DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for R25 at Pick n Pay, Exclusive Books and airport bookstores. For your nearest stockist, please click here.

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Rugby Championship in limbo after New Zealand drops a bombshell - msnNOW

Squint and it could be 2019: Double-decker buses decked out with travellers pointing out landmarks where the flags seem to fly a little higher.

Life in London looks a lot like normal. The UK is still seeing around 30,000 new cases each day but while the Brits seem to just be getting on with it, Kiwis living there can't.

For those like PJ Gerbes, life is not back to normal at all.

"I mean, yeah, I wanna see my dad, he doesn't have long left," she says, tearing up. "He doesn't have long left and we weren't expecting it to happen like this, we thought we'd have more time, and it would be like next year.

"Naively, I thought things would change, it would be easy to get home next year, but there's no script for cancer."

When New Zealand's latest lockdown was announced by Jacinda Ardern, it broke PJ down completely

"She talks all the time about being kind, how is this being kind?"

Her hopes of getting home to Hawke's Bay are now the lowest they've been in the ten months she's been trying.

"Waking up to the news, I just having heaps of family, asking 'what it's going to mean for your application for an emergency slot?', 'will they still do it?', 'will it take longer?', it adds so much more uncertainty."

Ninety percent of the UK population has now had one dose of a vaccine and 77 percent - 41 million - are fully vaccinated. Kiwis here believe the low vaccination rates at home are to blame for 'Fortress New Zealand'

"If they had rolled out the vaccination quicker, there wouldn't be such a need for the quarantine and the lockdown they're doing," says PJ.

But Kiwi Londoners have lived the stress of lockdowns and while the pull home is still strong, the sympathy for what those in Aotearoa are facing is too.

"I wear my heritage and my Kiwiness on me, every day, and I'm proud of being from New Zealand, but I don't feel that love in return," she says, referencing a tattoo on her arm.

The love that does go both ways is what keeps PJ fighting to get home.

Originally posted here:

Coronavirus: Concern among Kiwis in London about impact of New Zealand outbreak - Newshub

August 19 2021There are now 21 Delta Covid-19 cases in Auckland, including two in hospital.

KEY POINTS:

There are a total of 21 Delta Covid cases, an increase of 11 The NZ outbreak has now been linked to a traveller from Sydney Two infected people are now in hospital in a stable condition Police confirm arrests for lockdown flouters

New Zealand's Delta outbreak may now be "more contained" than first feared, a virologist says, after overnight genome sequencing secured a critical piece of the puzzle.

But experts still warn that the scale of the outbreak, which has so far grown to 20 cases, could still number around 100 infections.

Today, it was revealed Auckland's community positive cases were a close genomic match with a recent returnee from Sydney on a managed red zone flight on August 7.

That person returned a positive result on August 9 and was transferred from Crowne Plaza to Jet Park on that same day.

As officials could now work on the assumption the current cases came from the traveller, a search for the missing links in the infection chain was under way.

"There's a genomic match to a case in MIQ, which strongly suggests this may be - or at least close to being - an index case of this cluster," ESR and Otago University virologist Dr Jemma Geoghegan said.

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19 Aug, 2021 02:42 AMQuick Read

"We now know when they arrived in the country, which wasn't too long ago, which means that we know the likely timeframe that it may be have been in the community.

"And this all means that it's likely that we're dealing with more of a contained outbreak than we initially had thought."

There are now 21 Delta Covid cases in Auckland, including two in hospital.

Nineteen are in the Auckland quarantine facility.

Twelve of the 21 have been confirmed as part of the same Auckland cluster. A further eight are being investigated and are expected to be part of the cluster.

The other - an air crew member - is not expected to be linked because it is a border-related case.

Two people were taken to North Shore Hospital overnight. One had worsening symptoms and the other had underlying conditions. One is in their 20s and one in their 40s. Both are stable.

Geoghegan said the matching genomic results could only link the cases - but couldn't tell tell how the virus had spread.

"What we need to do now is overlay that crucial contact tracing and epidemiological data to help inform that transmission chain, and the direction of transmission."

Te Pnaha Matatini Covid-19 modeller Professor Shaun Hendy agreed the discovery of a possible link to the border was good news.

"If it holds up under further investigation then the later arrival date means that we are looking at a much shorter chain of transmission and fewer cases than the early results suggested."

He said previous estimates around the size of the outbreak did change if we assumed the virus arrived in the community around August 8 or 9.

"But," he added, "the late introduction also means that we saw a very large amount of spread mid to last week - these two factors roughly cancel out.

"So the good news is that the likelihood of undetected chains of transmission is lower, but our estimates of spread by Wednesday, given the cases we now know about, is still around 100."

Fellow Covid-19 modeller Professor Michael Plank said the fact that the person arrived from Sydney on August 7 meant the virus probably wasn't in the community for more than 10 days before it was detected.

"So that's probably the sort of least worst scenario we could have could have hoped for a moment."

But Plank said location was also a factor.

"We've just learned there's been about 2000 close contacts across the SkyCity Casino, so there's still the potential that we could have had a number of big super-spreading events," Plank said.

"And that's going to be the next big thing to look out for as the results of testing those close contacts come in."

Plank said alert level 4 will have stopped the virus for now.

"Although we're seeing huge numbers of contacts at the moment, going forward, we should see less of that."

Some of the big questions, he added, were how many close contacts would test positive, which would help determine how serious the outbreak was, and just how the lockdown would affect transmission.

"We've seen in Sydney that if it gets into essential workers, it can be really difficult to stop it from spreading," he said.

"The fact that we've acted quickly here and gone into a strict lockdown will definitely act in our favour.

"But we'll just have to wait and see - particularly when it comes to the second part of next week - to see what effect lockdown starts to have on case numbers."

Read more:

Covid 19 coronavirus: Outbreak may be 'more contained' than first feared - New Zealand Herald