Finn (53), a financial adviser at Sport Otago, was chairman of the committee that organised last season's South Island Colgate Games and the New Zealand senior track and field championships in Dunedin.
He has been given the job again to prepare for the New Zealand secondary schools championships at the Caledonian Ground next December.
It is the biggest annual track and field event in New Zealand.
"We have already started and have had two committee meetings," Finn said. "We have set a goal not to just run an athletics meeting but to run an event for the city."
Finn intends to use the championships to promote the University of Otago and the other Dunedin tertiary institutions to the estimated 1700 athletes who will come to Dunedin for the championships. Add on the team officials, coaches and parents and about 3500 people will visit Dunedin at that time.
"The Caledonian Ground is at the backdoor of the halls of residence and students flats," Finn said. "It is a captive audience for selling Dunedin as a student town," Finn said, Finn uses the administrative skills he learned from working at the Westpac Bank for 32 years in his athletics administration.
"It comes from good planning and from the efficient way you do things," Finn said. "I try to apply a lot of common sense to decision-making and getting things done."
He rates the Caledonian Ground as the best venue in the country for athletics.
"The Dunedin City Council have provided us with a fantastic facility with the ground and we have all the modern equipment to run an event efficiently," Finn said.
It takes a lot of skill to keep a busy athletics programme running on time and Finn has mastered this.
"It comes down to having a good team."
"In Dunedin we have about 50 officials who know how to run a meeting and know the rules of their event," he said.
Finn is proud of the way that Athletics Otago has updated its equipment which helps meetings keep to the timetable.
"When I started we had hand timing and we now have electronic timing," Finn said.
"The rest of the equipment has also been modernised.
"Athletics is one of the major sports at the Olympics and a foundation sport to teach people the basics movements that can be used in any sport," Finn said.
Children can compete on the same ground as the international stars.
"A few weeks before last season's national championships we had children throwing out of the same shot put circle that world champion Valerie Vili used when she won the national title," Finn said.
"They ran on the same track as Olympic 1500m silver medallist Nick Willis."
Finn came into the sport when his daughter, Katrina, started running for the Ariki club's children's section in 1997 and stayed on after his daughter graduated to senior ranks.
"I went along to watch Katrina compete but I got tired of just sitting in the grandstand and got myself involved in the sport," Finn said.
"The more I got into it the longer I stayed until athletics has become my sport."
His administrative skills were quickly recognised when he became only the third Otago athletics administrator to be elected president of the Athletics New Zealand's children's section.
The others are Beverley Findlay and Paul Tyson.
Finn stayed because he liked the sport. He has found it a challenge to run a track and field meeting to a set timetable.
"I get a buzz out of that and I also like to see individuals excel," he said.
"I enjoy the excitement of seeing a young athlete get a personal-best performance and see their growth in the sport."
Finn was full of praise for his predecessors in athletics administration in Otago such as Les Bradshaw, Ron Cain, Trevor King, Paul Tyson, Beverley and Russell Findlay.
The Finn file
At a glance
Age: 53.
Family: Veronica (wife), Katrina, Natalie (daughters).
Occupation: Financial adviser for Sport Otago.
Sport: Athletics.
Role: Starts referee, chairman of committee organising Colgate Games, NZ senior and NZ secondary schools championships.
