Overview:

Appeal against decision of national sporting organisation – jurisdiction – whether appeal filed in time and Tribunal could hear appeal – appeals to Tribunal against a decision of an NSO have to be filed within the time period set out in the NSO’s rules or if those rules don’t specify time period, then within the time periods set out in the Tribunal’s Rules – disagreement between parties which rules applied, when the time period started and whether appeal filed within time – appellant argued MNZ’s rules did not apply to him since he had been previously suspended by MNZ and was not a member of MNZ at the relevant time – however, if he was not a member of MNZ then the Tribunal wouldn’t have been able to hear his appeal as the only right of appeal to the Tribunal he would have had would have been through MNZ’s rules – on the evidence, and its interpretation of the applicable rules (MNZ rules), the Tribunal ruled that appellant did not file his appeal within required 15 working days and was out of time – although Tribunal can extend certain time periods in its own Rules for filing certain documents, the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to extend time periods for filing appeals when they are set out in the NSO’s rules – appeal struck out.