New General Manager for Outdoors New Zealand

Media Release for immediate use: 17 August 2009

New General Manager for Outdoors New Zealand.

Well regarded outdoor personality Paul Chaplow, has been appointed General Manager of Outdoors New Zealand (ONZ).  Outdoors New Zealand is an umbrella federation of about 120 outdoor recreation and outdoor education bodies and focuses on advocacy and promotion of the outdoor recreation sector.

Paul is presently the programme manager for the areas of alpine, rock, first aid and risk management with the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council.  During his time at MSC, Paul successfully completed a post graduate diploma in Business Administration with Victoria University. Paul has a strong participation and leadership background in a wide range of outdoor pursuits.  These roles include being a ski instructor, sailing watch captain, instructor/operations manager at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, sea kayaking operations manager,  eco-tourism lodge manager and staff development manager with Outward Bound NZ.   These roles give Paul an ideal grounding for his new position.  The members of the Executive of ONZ are unequivocal in their support for Paul and are excited about what he will bring to the position.  The Chairperson Dr Mike Boyes believes: “He brings considerable experience and mana, and there is no doubt he will hit the ground running.”

One of Paul’s early tasks will be the management of the annual forum to be held in September, 2009.  This will be an opportunity for the outdoor sector and others to meet the members of the newly formed Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Recreation Council and hear about the forthcoming plans to implement the SPARC Outdoor Recreation Strategy. In addition, a key section will be discussing the implications and lessons to be learnt from the Mangatepopo tragedy for the outdoor recreation/outdoor education sector.

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