| AUCKLAND CITY ATHLETICS CLUB LIFE MEMBERS |
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DON MacFARQUHAR
Awarded 2007
Don has coached many of New Zealand’s best young male middle distance runners since 1962, and is widely recognised as one of the country’s finest steeplechase coaches.
He has been an Athletics Auckland track and field selector for 40 consecutive years (to the 2008-09 season), and has selected the region’s cross country teams since 2000. He was also a New Zealand track and field selector from 1986 to 1994.
Don’s knowledge of past and present athletes, and their performances is remarkable, and he attended every Olympic Games from 1964 to 1992.
Himself a talented 440 and 880 yard runner, Don was coached by the great Arthur Lydiard in the 1950s and 1960s. |
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BARRY MAGEE
Awarded 2007
Barry is a legend in New Zealand and international athletics, as a member of the fabled group of world-class runners coached by Arthur Lydiard in the 1950s and 1960s.
A bronze medallist in the 1960 Olympic marathon, Barry’s contribution to athletics as a coach exceeds even his finest achievements as an athlete.
For more than thirty years this warm, humble and generous man has coached Auckland and New Zealand champions, Commonwealth and Olympic representatives; yet he remains accessible to every keen young (and not-so-young!) runner who turns up at ACA training at Cornwall Park or Mount Smart Stadium.
Barry received an Athletics New Zealand merit award for coaching and a Sport Auckland Lifetime Coach award in 2009; and was inducted to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in February 2010.
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DIANNE CRADDOCK
Awarded 2008
Dianne’s outstanding contribution to club, regional and national athletics administration in New Zealand spans two decades. She joined the College Rifles club committee around 1990 and as its chair initiated the discussions which led to the amalgamation with the Owairaka club to establish ACA.
Rarely seen without a smile and a solution to a problem, Dianne is also a board member of Athletics Auckland and convenor of its Cross Country Committee, which requires many hours of organisation before and during the winter season.
For several years she has helped to manage Auckland teams for national cross country road and Australian cross country championships, and in 2007 chaired the organising committee of the New Zealand Road Championships.
Dianne’s summers are only slightly less busy: she regularly fulfils various administrative roles at Auckland track and field HotMeets. |
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PAUL CRADDOCK
Awarded 2009
Paul's invlolvement with club administration and event management began with the College Rifles Harrier Club, and continued with the ACA's Winter Committee which he chaired from the club's inception in 1998 until 2004.
His contribution to the successful day-to-day operation of the Auckland City Athletics Club is extraordinary.
In the Winter season he sets out the courses for ACA and Auckland Grand Prix events, measures them to the last metre, makes sure each event is run correctly, and finally, brings back the cones and breaks down the course - long after almost everyone else is gone.
In 2005 he formally organised the Summer Track and Field Committee and is the organiser and coordinator for all ACA Club nights at Mt Smart during the summer. Usually the first person to arrive and the last to leave, Paul is modest about all he's done, and continues to do during the hundreds of hours he devotes each year to ACA and its members.
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