Leonard Albert Cuff (28 March 1866 – 9 October 1954) was a sportsman and sports administrator from New Zealand. Born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, Cuff was an all-round sportsman who excelled at both athletics and cricket, his most significant sporting association is as the 12th Leonard Cuff
at the

New Zealand Olympic Committee The New Zealand Olympic Committee (before 1994, The ''New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association'') is both the National Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Association in New Zealand responsible for selecting athletes to re ...

(of 13) Founding Members of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

, He was appointed to represent New Zealand and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

from 1894 to 1905. Cuff is credited with instigating the first athletics competitions between

and New Zealand, and inter-provincial competitions within New Zealand. He managed New Zealand's first tour of an international athletics team. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Biography

Cuff captained the first

New Zealand national cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the f ...

. At the first-class level, he played for both

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

and later for

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. He also played rugby for

. In athletics, Cuff won the New Zealand

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

title three times (1889, 1896 and 1897). In 1887, he was a founder and first Honorary Secretary of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association. Cuff managed the five-man team (including himself) that went to England and France in 1892. In Paris, France he won a silver medal for hurdles at an International Athletics Meet.Heidenstrom, P. (1992) ''Athletes of the Century.'' Wellington: GP Publications He was also an amateur golfer, winning the Tasmanian Amateur championship in 1904. Cuff died in

in 1954. The Leonard Cuff Medal was established in 2000 to award people for their contribution to olympism in New Zealand. John Davies was awarded the medal in 2003, but it has since been discontinued.

References

External links

*
"First On Field: Len Cuff"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuff, Leonard 1866 births 1954 deaths New Zealand cricketers New Zealand male long jumpers Auckland cricketers Canterbury cricketers Tasmania cricketers Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers New Zealand International Olympic Committee members New Zealand sports executives and administrators Australian sports executives and administrators Colony of New Zealand people New Zealand Athletics Championships winners Cricketers from Christchurch