The New Zealand Disc Golf Association (NZDG) is the national and governing body of the sport.
We are an incorporated not-for-profit society. Directors and Non-Executives are unpaid volunteers.
We have some 400 active Members (and growing). Membership is granted to disc golfers who play in sanctioned NZ tournaments.
There are an estimated 20,000 recreational disc golfers in New Zealand (also growing). There are some 46 disc golf courses in the country.
NZDG is affiliated to two international bodies, the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) and the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF). In turn, the 18 local disc golf clubs in New Zealand are affiliated to NZDG.
NZDG Board of Directors
Meet the team.
Paul Deacon
Chairman / Communications
Director
Originally from England, Paul migrated to New Zealand in 2003 after an international career with the bank HSBC. He trained to be an opera singer before retiring in 2008. Paul lives in Christchurch, where he is Chairman of Christchurch Disc Golf Club. He took up disc golf in 2015, when the first Christchurch course with baskets was installed in Jellie Park, near his home. He is an interested observer of the rapid growth of the game.
Jeremy Hawkes
Deputy Chairman
Jem is married with three adult children living in Invercargill. He has been a proud member of the Disc Golf South Committee since they incorporated. He is an ardent ambassador of the sport. Jem is keen to pass on the benefit of his experience in successfully helping the growth of the Invercargill Club (Disc Golf South) to become the largest club in the country.
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Martin Galley
Secretary / Tour Director
Martin has been involved with disc golf in some way or form for the last 20 years. He part owns a Disc Golf sales and course design company and is the chairman of his local club, Disc Golf Wanaka. Suffice to say, he continues to be passionate about the sport and is excited about the recent rapid growth in NZ.
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Chris Smith
Treasurer / Outreach Director
Chris has been playing since March 2018 and has quickly developed a passion for the sport. He is the founder of South Canterbury Disc golf Club and is steadily growing the player base and number of playable spaces in the region. Chris brings a youthful, approachable and positive aspect to his role on the board.
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Non-Executives
Meet the team.
Mario Cerniar
Membership Secretary
Hails from Switzerland, but mostly calls NZ his home. A long time top level competitor on the NZDG tour
and the brains behind our tour points scoring system
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Simon Feasey
PDGA NZ Rep
Simon lives at Bella Rakha with his wife Yvette and two girls Talia and Caitlin. Simon started playing Disc Golf in 1999 and fell in love with the game. In 2000 he was involved in starting the NZDG tour and remained on the NZDG board until 2019. Over the past 20 years Simon has played competitive disc golf both nationally and internationally, represented the Flying kiwis and attending many pro PDGA sanctioned events. Simon is the cofounder of RPM Discs and several years ago took on the role as the NZ PDGA representative.
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Mat Prichard
Financial Advisor
After completing his Chartered Accountancy qualification, Mat embarked on his OE and discovered disc golf in Canada. After then moving to Wanaka and eventually getting involved with Disc Golf Wanaka, Mat has formed a passion for the sport. As Finance Manager for Snow Sports NZ, Mat has a professional understanding of sport administration in NZ and has developed an effective strategy for sports fundraising. His goals are to fine tune NZDG’s financial system and enhance our sport’s professionalism, then to raise funds for course development around the country.
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Cooper Sollis
Assistant Tour Director
After playing his first round at Lismore Park in Wanaka 2018 with a Piwakawaka, the beauty of a flying disc latched on to Cooper. Little did he know, these after work sessions would turn into a game that has changed his life for the better. Mate-ship, community, competition and a love for the game are a few reasons why he likes to play. As somewhat of a newbie, Cooper is stoked to be learning more about the tour and helping where he can.
Chris Rae
Website Consultant
Chris is a keen disc golfer and outdoorsman that hails from Queenstown. He runs a small software firm and regularly misses putts from inside of the circle.
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Working groups
From time to time, the New Zealand Disc Golf Board sets up various 'Working Groups' to work on projects and then to report back to the board.
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Since May 2019, we have formed the following working groups:
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1.​ Constitution Working Group
Paul Deacon, Allen Gorthy, Brady Kuech.
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Working Group now closed (new Constitution agreed by members in Feb 2020).
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2. Website Working Group
Chris Rae, Martin Galley, Paul Deacon.
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- Ongoing
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3. Tour Working Group
Martin Galley, Paul Deacon.
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- Ongoing
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4. Fundraising Working Group
Mat Prichard, Martin Galley, Paul Deacon, Dave Keene.
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- Ongoing
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5. Medical Working Group
Paul Deacon, Brian Stout, Nicola Stout, Martin Galley.
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- Ongoing
