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
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.
Woody Riley
Secretary
Woody was throwing Ultimate discs at Woodhill in 2016, where he ran into Haydn who introduced him to a disc golf disc. He played his first tournament there and hasn't looked back. He was part of the team that organised many of the Auckland events in 2017/2018 and in 2019 moved to Northland, where he is forming the Northland Disc Golf Club and has been working with the council to set up 2 courses in Whangarei central.
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Paula Wilson
Treasurer
Paula has been involved with disc golf for the past 10 years. Paula’s education and work history is quite varied but her primary experience is in the dental industry. Competing on the NZDG Tour regularly, she has enjoyed watching the evolving skills of disc golf players on and off the course and is happy to see the disc golf community growing.
Martin Galley
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. Before disc golf, Martin had a sports photography business.
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Brady Kuech
Director, Development
Brady Kuech, of Wellington, became hooked on disc golf in 2007. He's regularly seen in bright yellow touring around New Zealand or representing New Zealand overseas. Brady founded the Wellington Disc Golf Club in 2015 and has served on the NZDG Board of directors for the last five years.
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Allen Gorthy
Director
Longtime disc golfer from Oregon, Allen has been playing in New Zealand for the past 6 years. The first half of that time in Cromwell. Enjoying the great courses around Central Otago and friendly players. The other half in the Auckland area. He and his partner currently live on Waiheke Island. This past year was his first year on the NZDG board. When not throwing discs, he works as a Farmer growing, grapes, olives, and market vegetables.
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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, Brady Kuech, Allen Gorthy, Paul Deacon.
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- Ongoing
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4. Fundraising Working Group
Mat Prichard, Martin Galley, Paul Deacon, Woody Riley, 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
