New manager from rival code

Former cricket administrator Andy McLean has been appointed general manager of Otago Hockey.PHOTO...
Former cricket administrator Andy McLean has been appointed general manager of Otago Hockey.PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
Otago Hockey has a new general manager and he is from a rival code.

Former Otago Cricket Association marketing and events manager Andy McLean has taken over the role from Tina Bell-Kake.

He had his first day in the job yesterday, although he has been with the organisation in a commercial role since December.

The 37-year-old spent 11 years at Otago Cricket. He also had a stint on the board of Bowls New Zealand and is on the board of Bowls Dunedin.

"I'd like to think I know my way around sports organisations at regional level and how they operate," McLean said.

"A lot of what I've seen here is pretty much the same from sport to sport.

"Some specifics are different but a lot of the challenges are fairly similar, really.

"From what I've seen Otago Hockey has a great little community. It is a really popular sport at the participation level.

"Obviously with it being a centralised sport with 90% of what happens happening down here at the one venue [the McMillan Centre], it really lends itself to having a nice tight-knit community.

"From my time at Otago Cricket, that is when it was most successful - when we had a really good feel about the place and a good culture.

"That is hopefully what we can continue to set up here."

Bell-Kake could not be reached for comment but she has left to take up the role of general manager of Counties Manukau Hockey.

Otago Hockey chairwoman Diana Hudson said in a statement that Bell-Kake "had a
great impact, particularly in improvements with the high-performance programme".

Bell-Kake was in the role just under a year. Her husband, Mark Kake, works for Southern Hockey in high performance.

The couple have children living in Auckland so, her decision to move north was motivated by a desire to be closer to them.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out [Mark] is probably looking for opportunities up there, as well. But at the moment he is still employed by Southern Hockey," McLean said.

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