They had to in aussie too. Not terribly uncommon. Players fall under the leagues umbrella insurance policy which many rinks often want.
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I’m not an expert on such matters, but … AFAIK Australia has quite different laws. In NZ there is little benefit to players and no risk to the rink in the governing body providing insurance.
The Dunedin, Gore, Queenstown, Naseby, Tekapo, Alexandra and Christchurch rinks certainly don’t care if you aren’t a member of the NZIHF. I don’t know about the Auckland rinks though.