The Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association (ANZSLA)
ANZSLA was formed in 1990 under the leadership of Hayden Opie, the first President and a board of mainly young Melbourne based lawyers interested in the law pertaining to sport.A very successful Conference was held at Melbourne University in 1991, and that proved to be the forerunner of Annual Conferences that have been held in the capital cities of 5 of the Australian States, in a regional centre and on both the North and South Island of New Zealand. Those conferences are the highlight of the ANZSLA year.
Shortly after the first Melbourne conference a journal entitled ?The ANZSLA Newsletter? was published, on what was initially to be a quarterly basis. The Newsletter was unique to the legal and sports administration community. ANZSLA was readily accepted by sporting organisations, government and the legal community as the body to provide advice and assistance, and since then it has conducted inquiries for major sports federations and government.
At a time when the only avenue of resolving sports disputes externally was the courts, and with the formation of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, ANZ SLA took a lead and set up its own dispute resolution service. That evolved, in partnership with the Australian Sports Commission, Confederation of Australian Sport & The Australian Olympic Committee into the National Sports Disputes Centre in Australia, at about the time that CAS created an Oceania Registry in Sydney. A similar scheme has been set up in New Zealand.
In 1999 the “Commentator” became the official publication of ANZSLA, the organisation
employed professional staff, and in late 2000 the Commentator was published electronically.
The organization is currently preparing for its 16th Annual Conference in Auckland. A website was created and access to the business and publications of ANZSLA is now obtained through that site www.anzsla.com.au.
Executive Manager: Amy Battle, 3/56-58 Cook Street, Randwick. NSW 2031.Australia
Facsimile & telephone: + 61 2 9398 9559
E mail access through the website.