Trustees
This year has seen a significant increase in the number of applications for our grants. The trustees are pleased to be able to advise that in its 35+ years, the Trust has distributed Scholarship grants exceeding $1,000,000.
David Jack - Chairman
GEOFF BROWN - Deputy
Teresa Stanley - Secretary
Alison Fitch
Brian Tong
Murray Burdan
Mary Mcfarlane
Laura Quilter
EMMA ROBINSON
JOHN WEST
Vincent BaRnaO
Rebecca Cresswell
Annabelle Carey
Queen’s Birthday Honours
Congratulations to Mrs Mary Joan McFarlane for being awarded Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to swimming.
Mrs Mary McFarlane began her involvement with swimming officiating and administration in 1970 and has since officiated in various volunteer roles across local, national, and international level events for 50 years. Mrs McFarlane coached at club nights before becoming an official timekeeper in the Otago region and then a Technical Official nationally. She qualified as a National Starter in 1983 and an Inspector of Turns in 2013. She has acted as a manager numerous times for Otago swim teams for New Zealand swim meetings and has held various administrative and leadership roles with Swimming Otago. She officiated at the Pacific Games in Samoa in 2019 and attended the 11th Oceania Swimming Championships in Fiji in 2016 and the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa in 2015 in a technical capacity. She has continued to officiate at the New Zealand Open and New Zealand Age Group championships for many years and has officiated at the European Special Olympics and World Masters Championships. In 2019 alone she spent 232 hours volunteering on the pool deck of national events, more than any other New Zealand Technical Official. Mrs McFarlane was involved with the New Zealand Royal Life Saving Society from her high school years, becoming an instructor and examiner in 1954, and continuing to examine until 2005.
Congratulations to Mr John Mace for being awarded Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to swimming.
Mr John Mace has contributed to the sport of swimming since 1975 in a variety of roles. Mr Mace has been Chairman of the Mt Wellington Swim Club and was Team Manager of the Auckland Swim Team and President of the Auckland Region from 1984 to 1990. He was a member of the organising committee and Head of Protocol for the 1990 Commonwealth Games held in Auckland. He served as Vice President and was President of the New Zealand Swimming Federation from 1992 to 1996. He was Chef de Mission for the New Zealand Aquatic Team in Rome in 1994, overseeing swimming, diving, water polo, and synchronised swimming. He represented swimming on the New Zealand Sports Assembly. He was a Trustee of the New Zealand Swimming Trust from 1992 to 2013 and served as Chairman, and as Chairman of the Awards Committee. He played a leading role in restructuring the sport of swimming, leading to the review of Swimming New Zealand in 2012, at which point he was elected as President of Swimming New Zealand and concluded that term in 2015.
Congratulations to Mr Robin Hood for being awarded Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to springboard and platform diving.
Mr Robin Hood has contributed to the sport of springboard and platform diving nationally and internationally for more than 50 years. Between 1959 and 1991 Mr Hood competed in diving championships at local, interprovincial, national and international levels. He won a gold medal at the 1966 New South Wales State Diving Championship and gold and silver medals in springboard diving at the 1990 Australian Masters Games and the 1991 New Zealand Masters Games. He established the Wanganui Diving Committee and was a foundation member and subsequent Chairman of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association’s national diving committee. He managed the New Zealand Diving Team at the 1982 International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Championships, served as Technical Director of Diving for the 1990 Commonwealth Games and Technical Director of the Organising Committee for the 1999 FINA World Cup in Wellington. In 2008 and 2009 he assisted the Sports and Recreation Council in two annual reviews of applications for Government funding by international technical officials across all New Zealand sports codes. Mr Hood has also served as a referee and judge of international diving at Olympic, Commonwealth, South East Asia Games, and numerous FINA World Diving Championships.