Triathlon New Zealand (Tri NZ) has appointed Shanelle Barrett to the position of Technical Manager for the national governing body.
Barrett is no stranger to the sport, having previously worked full-time in the Tri NZ office setting up the technical programme. This role was subsequently taken up by Penny Skaife when Barrett left to return to her home town of Taupo and work in the events industry.
Barrett is hugely respected in the sport, both in New Zealand but globally for her work as a Technical Delegate with the International Triathlon Union (ITU) where she has officiated at the highest level and will again feature at the London Olympic Games.
Tri NZ Event Director Haidee Stratford is delighted to have once again secured the services of Barrett, as Skaife moves on to a new role with Gym Sport New Zealand.
“This feels a little like ‘back to the future’ with Shanelle’s appointment to run the Technical Programme. There has been so much time and energy invested in this aspect of the sport and Shanelle was instrumental in much of that early work that has since been carried on superbly by Penny.
“Quite simply Shanelle is a wonderful asset for the sport and for Triathlon New Zealand, I have no doubt that her passion for the sport and world class knowledge of the technical area will see Tri NZ continue to lead the world in developing world class programmes and technical officials, all of which adds hugely to the quality of our endorsed events throughout New Zealand.”
Barrett’s focus is on training and developing officials to ensure they receive the necessary support in their roles in order that Tri NZ can supply world class officials to local and international events.
“I am so pleased to once again be working with Tri NZ in an area I am passionate about,” said Barrett. “I hope to be able to share the knowledge that I have gained from the experiences at events to date and also with the high level events that I will be attending in the next couple of years with the Olympics in London and Youth Olympics in Nanjing.
“Initially I will be analysing where the programme is currently at, to see where we can make improvements. I will then work with ITU to get the NZ Technical Pathway accredited. This will mean a clear pathway for officials looking to aim for officiating at the Olympic games in future years.
“We will also start to look at ParaTri and ensuring the officials are trained for these events so we can move forward with having more triathlons available for Paratriathletes.”
Shanelle Barrett will take up the role on a contract basis, working from her base in Taupo but spending considerable time on events and with technical officials around the country.
