[Released Tuesday 17th August]
After 22 years with Hockey New Zealand, Ramesh Patel will be leaving the organisation at the end of this year.
Twenty of these years were as CEO and more recently as Hockey Director since April 2009.
“I joined the organisation in 1989 as Coach Development Manager, and three months later I was CEO. There were only two of us who worked for Hockey New Zealand, and when the CEO at the time left, I stepped up to the role,” explains Patel.
“Hockey has been a huge part of my life, at all levels. From being part of the unforgettable 1976 gold-medal winning team at the Montreal Olympics, to running the national body for hockey, to playing Saturday club hockey – hockey has always been part of who I am.”
“I will miss being part of the day to day running of the sport, but hockey will still be a big part of my life. I’ve yet to decide what I will do, but it will still involve playing hockey and following the Black Sticks teams, and I am delighted to be a Patron of the Foundation.”
Ramesh Patel has seen Hockey New Zealand grow from having just a CEO and a Coach Development Manager, to the national body it is today with capability in high performance, sport development, tournaments and events and support services.
He says, there have been a number of highlights during his time as CEO which include:
• Hosting the 1991 Olympic Men’s and Women’s Qualifying Tournament where both the Men and Women qualified for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
• Hosting the 2004 Olympic Women’s Qualifying Tournament where the Women qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
• Hosting the 2008 Olympic Men’s Qualifying Tournament where the Men qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
• Hosting the 2009 World Cup Men’s Qualifying Tournament where the men qualified for the 2010 World Cup.
• The Black Sticks Women winning a bronze medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia.
• The Black Sticks Men winning a silver medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
• The Black Sticks Women finishing sixth at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
• The Black Sticks Men and Black Sticks Women Finishing sixth at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
• The 2009 year, where the Black Sticks Women, won the Oceania World Cup Qualifier and won the Champions Challenge Tournament. The Black Sticks Men won the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Invercargill and won the Champions Challenge Tournament. The Junior Black Sticks Men finished fourth at the Junior World Cup.
• The introduction of the National Hockey League in 1999.
• The introduction and establishment of the Regional Development Officers in 18 regions.
• Coaching and Development pathways.
• The proliferation of artificial surfaces throughout the country – there are now 69 competition size artificial turfs
• A strong and supportive team at Hockey New Zealand.
• Financially steady and secure throughout these years.
• Operating under very good Hockey Chairs during this time.”
“With Hilary Poole coming on board as CEO, I know Hockey New Zealand is in very capable hands for its future endeavours.”
Patel will remain at Hockey New Zealand until the end of this year. During this time Poole is looking to expand the sporting management nous of the organisation, by disestablishing the Hockey Director role, and recruiting a National Participation and Development Manager and High Performance Manager to focus on these two distinct areas, plus strengthening the communications and commercial capabilities.
“Ramesh’s contribution to hockey is incredible, he has done so much for the sport and given above and beyond. We will certainly miss his hockey intelligence and wise head.
“However, after being here for a year, I am very clear that in order to take hockey forward we need to increase the capability of the organisation particularly in sport development and high performance,” says Poole.
The National Participation and Development Manager will drive the growth and development of hockey throughout New Zealand, while the High Performance Manager will be responsible for the development and delivery of a world class high performance programme including talent development, the national junior and senior high performance programmes.
ENDS
