Raising funds to pay a ridiculous transfer fee

I am raising funds to pay a $1000 transfer fee for my son set by Canterbury Rugby League. Anyone who knows us knows Tuhaka’s tragic story. This is just another kick in the guts for us. Here is the background to this fundraising initiative.

In 2011 Tuhaka found his dad after he committed suicide. Tuhaka was just 9 years old. This was in itself a traumatic and tragic time for a young boy to deal with. Two years later he faced the beginnings of a high court battle that was aiming to have Tuhaka’s dads body exhumed and cremated. Tuhaka highly opposed this so as his mum I fought hard for him and supported him to have his voice heard in court. The 3-day high court trial was late Oct / early Nov in 2016.

Not long after the trial Tuhaka expressed a desire to move to Linwood to live with his poppa (my dad) so he could be closer to the cemetery his dad was buried at but also he wanted to change schools. You could imagine the headspace this kid was in having to deal with everything.

This wasnt an easy option for me to allow my only child to go and not be living with me but I did it for Tuhaka because I had already seen all the hardship he had faced and as his mum I will support him.

We completed the shift in Jan 2017. He had been a Hornby Panther for two seasons and we notified them of the changes of living situation and that we wanted a transfer as Tuhaka wanted to play league for Linwood. Hornby gave Tuhaka a one year loan permit which we could reassess in the future. We have gone to do a transfer this season as Tuhakas situation has not changed and he continues to reside in Linwood and go to Te Pa o Rākaihāutu school in Linwood.

We have been notified that to transfer Tuhaka from Hornby Rugby League to Linwood Rugby League will cost us $1000. This is a Canterbury Rugby league by-law because he is a South Island rugby league rep. How ludicrous!!!! He has only just turned 16 less than two weeks ago. He does not work (he wants to!) but because of his training for his local club and his representative teams he is very busy either training a lot or playing the league games hes been training for - not exactly an employers dream employee only being available after school two nights a week and maybe Sundays! He has no transport because he has only just qualified to get his learners license. He has no income apart from me giving him pocket money.

How is this ruling justified? It feels like he is being punished for having some talent. 25% of this fee goes to CRL and 75% goes to the team he is transferring from (in this case Hornby) I cannot afford $1000 to just pay as dead money. I am a single mother paying all his bills, his living expenses, schooling expenses, I pay his league subs every year on time, I have to buy him new league boots every year because he is a growing boy. I pay his fees to represent his city and his Island in league. I pay a gym membership for him so he can train hard for his league - and he is actually a reasonably good plyer but hes no NRL player yet so why is this fee so substantial?

We dont need this extra stress in our lives. Rugby League is the one thing in his life that he is passionate about and loves. He cannot play until the transfer is complete - we cannot pay the required fee to accompany the transfer paperwork so i need your help.

We are seeking the generosity of whanau, friends and everyday kiwis to contribute towards this fee so we can complete the transfer. To play for Hornby would mean bussing across town for trainings and getting himself to games - to stay with Linwood he has his training just down the road and the support of other local parents to help with getting to games if needed.

I am desperate - this is not easy for me but I am putting my pride aside and putting my hand up in a time of need. I am doing this for my boy because he deserves to play league for his local club without money being a barrier. I have always maintained that finance should never be a barrier to young people displaying talent and passion. I have raised money in the past for other young league players to assist with fees and when bulk donations came in I never put money towards my own son - I always gave to others because I felt others needed it more.

If you are in a position to contribute please consider supporting Tuhaka. With huge thanks and gratefullness in advance from a proud mum xxx