Bull leads charge against child abuse and for child protection in sport

Image caption:  Bull Allen with his Buddy in Tauranga.


If there is anyone who knows a thing or two about properly caring for children in sports teams, it’s ex-All Black Bull Allen.

Not only is he a professional sportsman who has done a lot of coaching over the years, including this season’s roles with Bethlehem College First XV and the Bay of Plenty U18s, but he is also a dad to five children.

Buddy Day, New Zealand’s only child abuse prevention awareness campaign, is coming up on 14 November. It is in its fourth year.

It  revolves around life-size cardboard ‘Buddies’ being adopted by adults, taken into communities and workplaces, and used as a tool to generate conversations about child abuse and child protection in all its forms, including physical and emotional abuse, as well as neglect.

The 1500 adults participating in Buddy Day in Tauranga, Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton are given practical information about how to set up safe environments for children in everyday situations – one of those being sport participation.

“I think the Buddy Day message is such an important one – especially in sport. I have always tried to be mindful about who my children spend their time with,” he said.

“I make sure I hang around when my kids have an event to attend where there were going to be adults I don’t know; whether it be a sports game or a birthday party, because as well as being a good way to get some party food, it’s important to be careful about what your kids are doing and who they are spending their time with.

“We can all get a bit complacent at times, but I think a good thing to ask ourselves as parents is what could happen if we didn’t take that extra care? It doesn’t bear thinking about because our children are the most precious things on this earth.

“We have to be our kids’ biggest supporters and biggest advocates. I certainly have no problems getting the pom poms out for my kids.”

Buddy Day was started by child advocacy organisation Child Matters, in 2011.  Bull, whose children are aged 26, 19, 18, 12 and 10 years of age, adopted a Buddy last year and compered the 2013 Tauranga Buddy Day event.

Child Matters chief executive Anthea Simcock says, “Unfortunately, many people see the child abuse statistics and think the problem of child abuse is too big for them to make a difference. That’s simply not true. 

“Educating the adult population about the daily things they can do to keep kids safe is what Buddy Day is all about. This year we’ve developed an information brochure that every adult participating in the day will receive; it’s also available on our website. 

“It has handy tips for keeping kids safe on the sport field, in school, at social gatherings and many other everyday situations. 

“The reality is that every adult can take a few proactive steps that can greatly minimise the likelihood of child abuse occurring. Buddy Day is about asking adults to step up and do whatever they can to help prevent child abuse in their circles of influence.”

Child Matters recommends four practical steps adults can take to keep children safe in a sporting environment:

1. Have parents sign a code of conduct at the start of the sport season, agreeing to behave in a supportive and appropriate manner on the sports field (e.g. no aggressive behaviour; no undue pressure on the children – it is only a game; no inappropriate language).

2. Ensure parents are aware of sports team volunteers.  Ask:  Who are they? Have they been background checked to make sure they are safe to be around children?

3. During post-match get-togethers, ensure there is at least one designated, sober person to supervise children.

4. Remember, anyone under 18 years of age is legally a child. If a teen, 17 years and under plays on a sport team with older people, it is important to consider this, particularly for after-match activities such as overnight excursions or post-match celebrations where alcohol is available.