We are in the midst of a data centric world in which data is the driving force for all our digital interactions; signing up to newsletter, logging into Facebook, or even ordering an Uber – while these are common activities, the experience that you as a consumer receive all rely on the collection data.

In community sport, the collection of member data is essential in ensuring that clubs know who their membership is – for the purpose of collecting fees, putting players into teams, reporting to governing bodies, and so on. However, we simply cannot collect data because we want, after all we are dealing with information that does not belong to us.

So what does that mean? Consent.

Before we can collect any data, the people who’s data we are collecting must be aware that we are doing so, and give permission for us to collect and use that data. This is where Terms & Conditions, and Privacy Policies come into place.

These very important documents outline the collection and use of data that you as a club collect; including what you collect, why you collect it, how you protect it, what you will do with it, etc. All information stored within COMET is subject to the National Registration System Terms & Conditions – therefore all members who register via MyCOMET are subject to these terms. So as a club, you can rest easy knowing that members that are stored in COMET for the purposes outlined in the Terms have read and accepted the Terms.

But what if your club collects information outside of COMET and/or outside of the purposes outlined in the Terms? Well, in this case, you will need to consider creating a set of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy that outline this. These Terms will assist in advising people what you are collecting and what you are doing with that data; and can also serve to protect your club from any abuse (e.g. failure to make payment for services that your club offers, such as an academy or holiday programme).

If you would like to get more information data and data protection, seek independent legal counsel for your club; another great place to get started is by visiting https://www.privacy.org.nz/

Article added: Friday 22 February 2019