Positive direction set for Marist St Pats
At our 51st Annual General Meeting our members were updated on numerous initiatives that the club has underway. 2021 has been a year of great highs and lows with incidents putting Marist St Pats in the spotlight for the wrong reason.
Those incidents were balanced by a huge celebration of 50 years of our club and numerous celebrations of individual achievements during the season that showcased our diverse and rich culture. Anyone who attended our clubrooms this season would have seen this in spades.
Our Management Committee has committed to doubling down on their efforts to move our club forward, learn from mistakes, live our values, and embrace our diverse club community. This article shares more on activity underway at Marist St Pats, albeit still at a high level. Given the length, you can skip to sections on the links below:
A group was established in late 2020 to undertake a strategic review of Marist St Pats. Led by John Wootton, the main objective of the review was to develop a draft strategic plan for Marist St Pats to grow and succeed on a long-term basis.
Following a SWOT analysis and engaging the club community through an online survey and strategic workshop with club members, the group has identified six areas for the club to focus on:
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Footie
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Faith
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Family
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Facilities
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Fun
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Financial and framework
These areas have been developed into a draft Strategic Plan and presented to the Management Committee for consideration. 20 actions have been proposed, with at least 10 proposed to be actioned in 2022.
The key strategic objectives are:
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Be the rugby club of choice in Wellington
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Allow no compromise to our core values
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Celebrate our mixed cultures
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Be more inclusive for females and families
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Create a more fun environment
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Connect better with schools, junior club and ex players
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Look for new opportunities with other sports and activities
We would like to acknowledge the huge amount of work that has gone into establishing this plan which charts a course forward for our club community. Further updates will be shared throughout 2022 as the Management Committee commits to making recommended improvements.
The Strategic Working Group included John Wootton, David Gray, Jackson Martin, Gina Petelo, Iain Potter, David McGuinness, Ken Ah Kuoi and Rob Evans.
Following the 2021 season, the Management Committee has reviewed the club's structure in how we best support our players.
This has resulted in a decision to divide the roles in rugby operations to spread the load.
The new roles are filled by Li’i Alaimoana who has been appointed the liaison for the WRFU Game Development Officer on a part-time basis. This role will focus on making a contribution to college, schools, junior and wider community rugby programmes.
A St Patrick’s College Old Boy, Li’i brings a range of rugby experience as former head coach of the Grande Prairie Centaurs Senior Men (Alberta, Canada), Paraparaumu College 1st XV and the St Pats Town U15s. Li’i is also head coach for the Marist St Pats Colts in 2022 joining returning coaches Matt Christie and Justin Gray.
John Duignan has returned to take up another newly created part-time time role as Rugby Coordinator. This role will focus specifically on Marist St Pats rugby operations such as gear, facilities and game day organisation.
Both these roles will report to the Chair of the Rugby Sub Committee Iain Potter and work alongside Club Captain Mike Renouf.
Over the past three years Zak Feaunati has fulfilled the roles of Game Development Officer and Premier Head Coach. Marist St Pats and the Management Committee would like to thank and acknowledge Zak and we are thrilled that he will continue to contribute to our club as our Premier Men’s Head Coach in 2022.
Norm Broughton shared an update on two initiatives he has been leading to embrace our diverse community and create things that are unique to Marist St Pats.
Norm has been working alongside former Premier player Brendan Watt to develop a unique club haka. In recent years, players and club members have celebrated individual and team achievements by performing a haka. With our members coming from different schools, suburbs and regions these haka haven't always been able to be performed together.
Our club haka has been composed with a clear understanding of our history and who we are as a club. Performing our club haka in unity will enhance the mana of our club and bring us together.
Norm has assembled a group who will learn our haka together to then teach others in our community.
Another initiative Norm has led, in consultation with players and other members, is an enhancement to our playing jerseys. This will included subliminated Maori and Pasifika designs over the chest and shoulder plate, acknowledging the huge contribution of Maori and Pacific club members and giving our players a unique addition to our jersey they wear with pride.
Following presentation to the AGM, Norm will now be undertaking more detailed designs to ensure our club history and values are incorporated into these designs. The intention is to have these jerseys available for the 2022 season and available for club members and supporters to purchase.
At the AGM our members elected the Management Committee to lead Marist St Pats in 2022. We are proud to embrace one of the most diverse management teams in Wellington rugby with representation of different cultures, genders and ages.
Life Member and former Chairman John Holden was elected President, with Ken Ah Kuoi remaining on the committee in the role of Junior Vice President. John acknowledged the huge contribution Ken and wife Frances have made during his time as President over the past three years. Ken has been a prominent and outstanding ambassador for our club in the wider rugby community and we're grateful to him for continuing to contribute to the club.
Steve McGill will become our WRFU Delegate, taking over from Murray Tocker who has made a significant contribution in his time in this role and again represented our club interests with passion and respect.
David O'Hagan was appointed the new Treasurer for the club, taking over the reigns from Lourdaiz Ah Chong who is stepping down from the committee but will continue to contribute to the club and particularly the Colts.
Kate Clapperton will serve as Secretary for another year, also making a significant contribution to our House Committee and Under 85 team.
The other new committee members are Maria Masina, Saina Mikaio and former Junior Convenor Martin Paget. Chairman Rob Evans noted how positive it is for the club to have an expanded board with more members offering their skills and experience to contribute to the club.
Along with Murray and Lourdaiz, Mike Hansen will also be stepping down from the committee after six years of service (including three as Chair) and would like to thank him for his contribution over this time.
The 2022 Management Committee is:
John Holden (President), Ken Ah Kuoi (Junior Vice President), Rob Evans (Chair), Mike Renouf (Club Captain), Kate Clapperton (Treasurer), Steve McGill (WRFU Delegate), David O’Hagan (Treasurer), Bevan Brocklehurst (Junior Convenor), Melissa Moroney, Maria Masina, Saina Mikaio and Martin Paget.
We look forward to sharing more about the progress we're making as a club community. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates from Marist St Pats.
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