Really enjoying it. Every day is different, and that in itself is just really invigorating.
Why did you want the job?
A number of things. Sport has been inherent in me, and it’s allowed me to travel the world. From a personal perspective, it gives me satisfaction and health and great friendships. So I look at all the benefits that sport and physical activity can bring. That’s what it’s all about. On the high performance side, I’ve been in that environment and that’s very much the tip of the iceberg. I look across society and our community and just think sport and activity goes hand in hand with a fit and healthy community. I think it was just a timing thing to actually be ready to come back into sport from being in a commercial environment, and bring my skillsets along with my sporting background and that interest.
You’d already had a link with Sport Otago, am I right?
Yeah, so I was a trustee for six years. I had a really good view of Sport Otago, but at governance level, so it’s very different coming in at an operational level. I was fully aware of the breadth of what we do here, and in the back of my mind, I thought if the CEO role came up, I would have a go at it.
What did you do before this job?
I was at ACC, working with employers in health and safety. Did an MBA then ended up at The Tarn Group, a technology company — online learning — and we sold into a lot of sports organisations. So I was actually going out and talking to them. It was quite a sports-oriented technology company. Then the last couple of years, I’ve been at PKF Dunedin, the accounting firm, just as general manager. Both roles gave me really great insight into small businesses and managing people and strategy. So I think there are good transferable skills into the sporting sector.
The world’s changing rapidly, and sport is no exception. How does an organisation like Sport Otago stay relevant?
It’s a very good question. From our perspective, we’ve got quite a big catchment area. So it’s actually getting out and engaging with the community, and making sure we are hearing what they’re after, whether that’s sport or physical activity. We’re facilitators. We’re just trying to talk to stakeholders and the kids and the families to get a steer on where things are going. As long as we’re listening to them, and getting all the info from Sport NZ and our funders, with the ultimate goal of keeping people physically active . . . we need to leverage and use that. Sport is changing. We’ve seen the rise of futsal and other sports where maybe it’s about just rocking up and playing with your mates. That’s really evolving. Competitive sport still has its place but there are also a lot of people happy just to go biking or do something in the outdoors.
Your predecessor, John Brimble, was very proud of the rates of participation and activity in Otago. Is this a particularly good part of the world to play sport?
Absolutely. And I think that’s where we need to be a point of difference. Why can’t we be even more active than we are? Great, we’re sitting way above the New Zealand average. But why can’t it be more? We need to get to the kids who aren’t active, and work out how we can allow them to participate and remove any barriers in front of them. That’s always our challenge.
And in a post-Covid world? Any thoughts on what the coming years will bring for sport?
Sport just needs to be careful it doesn’t price itself out of people’s range. Sometimes it can be more of a hobby — OK, if I’m going to do something, it’s on my own terms, and I’m doing it after work or whatever. From a sport perspective, I think you have to be careful around being too structured, too prescribed, because sometimes it just won’t fit in with people’s lives. That flexibility — smaller games, quicker games. Maybe Saturday sport is not always going to be the thing. So sport will evolve, because it feels like people are more selective about how they use their time. And I think sports need to work together, and have those flexible calendars, to offer what the kids want. It can’t just be what we’ve always done in the past.
Where did you come from?
Hawke’s Bay is home. But I went to boarding school at Christ’s College. My wife, Sophie, is from Christchurch. We were both students at Otago. When I retired from hockey, we were living in Auckland with our first-born and we had no family there. So I got a transfer to Dunedin in 2010. We gave it five years, but it was the best move ever.
Children?
Max and Anabelle. Max is year 9 at John McGlashan. Anabelle has just started at Columba as year 7.
Was hockey always a part of your life?
I grew up on a coastal farm, and we actually had a school on the farm. About 12 kids. We joined with another school up the road and ended up having a hockey team. Then we just made a hockey pitch on the farm. My parents both played and coached. I played heaps of other sports but probably realised about sixth form I was doing quite well in hockey, and one of my coaches planted the seed about playing for New Zealand and going to the Olympics. That was all I needed.
How old were you when you made your Black Sticks debut?
I was 22, I think. But it was a couple of years before I really solidified my place in the squad.
You ended up playing 83 tests. What was the highlight?
I had a few. The Athens Olympics in 2004. The home of the movement, and my first Olympics. That was awesome and a great experience. Then we had a knockout tournament in Auckland to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, and we beat Argentina on the buzzer. I was very fortunate to go to another Olympics, and it couldn’t have been more different from the traditions of Athens.
What sort of life lessons did you take from your time in elite sport?
I think it’s just about being really clear about where you want to go. I had a goal, and I saw hockey as my vehicle to do it. Your purpose comes from within. From a team perspective, the culture is 90% of how well you are going to go. That’s about coach and players and management all knowing exactly where they’re trying to go. I think we had it but we never quite nailed it with the Black Sticks. I’d love to say we won a gold medal, but we never quite got there.
Are you still involved with hockey?
I became a Black Sticks selector this year. Really excited about doing it. It feels very familiar being back. The game has evolved, but how they operate on a day-to-day basis is pretty similar. And I’m still playing for my Kings United club. I love it.
