Queenstown Lakes District council team leader Penny Batchelor has been in the job only a month, but already she has started organising sports and activities for all ages in the community, and not just at weekends or at night.
"My vision is to progress the great work that has already been done at the Wanaka Recreation Centre and to get lots more happening there during the day."
Mrs Batchelor grew up in the Catlins and has always "loved sports, played sports and been involved in sports coaching and volunteering."
She was the Catlins Area School sports co-ordinator and sports co-ordinator for all schools in the Catlins before becoming the first manager of the Cross Recreation Centre, in Balclutha.
The centre, with five courts and a multipurpose floor, opened in 2011 and went went from zero to 80,000 visits, including spectators, in six years.
Mrs Batchelor started as the new recreation centre manager on August 24 and has already set up children’s holiday programmes and the first ‘‘grandparents and grandkids’’ morning tea and sports day for October 11.
"The ‘grandparents and grandkids’ day was an idea we trialled in Balclutha and everyone just loved it."
Other successful ideas imported from Balclutha include walking netball and walking basketball, which do not involve any running or jumping and allow the player to take four or five steps in four or five seconds.
"We had 30-year-olds to 70-year-olds playing in Balclutha and they loved it so much, they’ve asked me to set it up in Wanaka so they come up here to play."
Mrs Batchelor said she anticipated it could be harder to fill a sports centre during the day in Wanaka than it was in Balclutha, as "the weather was not great there and it is incredible here and Balclutha didn’t have other sporting attractions like snow skiing."
She said sports centres took care of themselves over weekends and evenings but she would be working on getting some great ideas for adults and seniors to use the centre during the day.
