Paul Douglas Ackerley (16 May 1949 – 3 May 2011) was a

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

player, maths teacher and public servant from New Zealand. He played

at right half. He was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He was selected for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

, but most sports in New Zealand boycotted the Moscow games so he did not compete. He had 25 international caps for New Zealand. Ackerley was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

but grew up in Ashburton. He graduated from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, where he played in the Canterbury University hockey club in the late 1960s. He was a secondary school mathematics teacher at

Linwood College Te Aratai College (founded as Linwood High School, then renamed Linwood College from 2000–2021) is a co-educational secondary school in Linwood, a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. History Founded in the early 1950s to cater for the seco ...

, Christchurch and then head of the maths department at

Awatapu College Awatapu College is a state co-educational secondary school in Awapuni, Palmerston North, New Zealand. It was opened in 1976, and as of August 2024 it had 885 students. About the School Geography Awatapu College is located in West End, a sub ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

. He transferred to the Education Ministry inspectorate, and then the

New Zealand Qualifications Authority The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA; ) is the New Zealand government Crown entity tasked with administering educational assessment and qualifications. It was established by the Education Act 1989. NZQA administers the National Cert ...

, where he was in the group that developed the NCEA. He joined

Sport and Recreation New Zealand Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) ( Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Their subsidiary High Performance Sport New Zealand deals with elite athletes. Legislat ...

(SPARC) in 2004 as a senior advisor in coaching and volunteers. He coached the national woman's hockey team when they won a bronze at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

in Malaysia, and the Wellington women's team.The Dominion Post
/ref> Ackerley died in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand, aged 61 on 3 May 2011 from skin cancer after a short illness.

References

*''Ultimate team player and gifted coach'': Obituary in Dominion Post, 7 May 2011 page A26

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ackerley, Paul Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Deaths from skin cancer New Zealand male field hockey players Olympic field hockey players for New Zealand Field hockey players at the 1976 Summer Olympics New Zealand field hockey coaches Sportspeople from Ashburton, New Zealand Field hockey players from the Canterbury Region Sportspeople from Dunedin Field hockey players from Christchurch University of Canterbury alumni 1949 births 2011 deaths Olympic medalists in field hockey New Zealand educators People educated at Ashburton College Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand New Zealand public servants New Zealand women's national field hockey team coaches 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen