The love of his sport has sent him all over the world. His passport is a well worn document.
Even now at past retirement age the Dunedin man is just back from a three month jaunt in Asia for his sport.
And his sport - figure skating.
Dickson (68) is an enthusiast of the sport. A real enthusiast.
A mechanical engineer by trade, the Dunedin skater constructed a 40sq m rink in his front yard where he can practise his craft.
It can actually fold up on to a trailer but for now it sits on his front lawn.
It is made of plastic and he sprinkles liquid on it to make it slippery enough to resemble an ice rink as much as possible.
''It's great. I like to use it every day that I can. You can do everything you want on it,'' he said.
''Skating is actually a very good sport for you. A lot of people who do skating enjoy really good health.''
Dickson first got into the sport eight years ago through a former partner.
Before that, his only experience with it was skating at the Manorburn Dam, near Alexandra, as a teenager.
He took to the sport and has been to countries all over the world for ice skating.
His latest trip was to Australia for training with partner Sharon Straub, and then on to China and finally Japan where he competed in an open men's event.
He was one of the oldest competitors there and managed to finish fourth in the men's singles and pairs.
Dickson was stuck without a partner for a while but advertised extensively a couple of years ago and linked with Straub, a former Olympic gymnast based in Sydney.
So training together is somewhat limited.
He has medals from competitions in Italy, Russia, France, Germany, Australia, Switzerland and Dubai over the years.
Dickson shows no signs of hanging up his skates. He just loves the sport too much. As for what other people think of his exploits, well they have no impact on him.
''I do not care about what people think. They can say whatever they want. They're wrong anyway. I'm going on to the rink boots and all. I'm not going in half hearted.
''I'm only interested in winning, to get up on the dais.''
