The New Zealand Olympic Committee honoured four New Zealanders today for their service to the Olympic and Commonwealth Games movements.
Olympians Barbara Kendall, Trevor Shailer and Selwyn Maister, along with Sports Psychologist Gary Hermansson, were each presented with the Olympic Order of New Zealand at today’s annual General Assembly held in Auckland.
They join the 11 current Olympic Order Holders including Sir Murray Halberg, Sir Eion Edgar and David Gerrard who have also been recognised for their outstanding service to the Olympic Movement or sport.
BARBARA KENDALL MBE
Olympian No. 631
Barbara Kendall is one of New Zealand’s most successful athletes with a gold, silver and bronze medal to her name.
She was an IOC Member and highly respected contributor to the Olympic Movement at all levels.
Barbara represented New Zealand at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. She went on to compete at Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
She was a three-time world champion and five-time winner of the Halberg Sportswoman of the Year Award.
Off the water, Barbara has provided countless hours of largely volunteer service sport.
She has been coach, ambassador and commission and committee member over more than 15 years across New Zealand and the wider Pacific Region.
At her peak, Barbara was on 12 different global commissions, executive boards and working groups – representing New Zealand, Oceania, Women in Sport and Athletes at the highest level of sport.
Barbara has also been an active member, over many years, of the NZOC, ONOC, ANOC and IOC Boards and Athletes’ Commissions – ensuring that the athlete voice is considered in every decision at every level.
Barbara has provided dynamic leadership as an Olympic advocate - within NZ and across the world. She has, and continues to be, a champion of the Olympic values and inspires people young and old. She continues to lead the charge for the athlete’s voice.
TREVOR SHAILER MNZM
Olympian No. 668
Trevor became a member of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games family when he represented New Zealand in Boxing at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
He then wore the silver fern again in 1994 becoming a bronze medalist at the Victoria Commonwealth Games.
Soon after his retirement he became a member of our Athletes Commission and since then he has become a driving force behind our unique and highly valued team culture.
The One Team approach to team culture placed athletes first, and instilled pride in New Zealand, respect for others in the team, and respect for the people of the host nation.
Today, this team environment helps contribute to our success at pinnacle events on the world stage.
Trevor has also been a cultural advisor to the New Zealand Olympic Committee, helping ensure our incorporation of tikanga Maori into the team has grown and will continue to be an integral part of our team environment.
He has been a leader within Athlete Support teams at Olympic Summer and Winter Games and Commonwealth Games since Athens in 2004. And a deputy Chef de Mission in Glasgow and Rio.
His role has been vital in ensuring athletes are at the heart of what we do.
Trevor was also the Chef de Mission for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa in 2015.
GARY HERMANSSON ONZM
For close to 20 years, spanning 10 games campaigns from the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in 1998 to the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, Gary Hermansson has ensured New Zealand’s athletes have been prepared for competition.
As Team Psychologist, his focus has been on what it takes to be mentally ready.
He has also been an influential member of each games leadership team and contributed to the creation of our unique and athlete focused team environment.
Gary has also contributed to conflict resolution, guidance and advice, team building and lately, succession planning.
Core to his to this approach has been the philosophy that a team should create a sense of belonging in all its members.
During this period of sustained contribution, Gary has written books, mentored and advised many high performance athletes and leaders and been at the forefront of Sports Psychology, not only in New Zealand, but internationally as well.
SELWYN MAISTER QSM
Olympian No. 236
As an athlete, Selwyn represented New Zealand in Men’s Hockey at three Olympic Games – 1968, 1972, and was part of the gold medal winning team at Montreal in 1976.
He went on to be a highly active coach, administrator and mentor for hockey; both in the Canterbury region and for New Zealand.
He has also contributed significantly to the growth of the Olympic movement in New Zealand.
Selwyn has played an instrumental role in the establishment, growth and development of the Olympians Commission (formerly the Olympians Club of New Zealand) supporting the active engagement of all Olympians. “Once an Olympian, always an Olympian” is core to Selwyn’s philosophy, maintaining active connections between Olympians and developing a pool of retired athletes who contribute to the movement.
Selwyn was a driver behind the Olympic Pin numbering project, which has been a core platform of the NZOC’s legacy work. He also served on the Board of the World Olympians Association.
In addition to his voluntary commitment to the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Selwyn has been a Board Member of Paralympics New Zealand since 2008 and was appointed Chairman in 2014.