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

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

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 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He was selected for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

, 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 ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

but grew up in Ashburton. He graduated from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, 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 secon ...

, 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. About the School Geography Awatapu College is located in West End, a suburb of Palmerston North, at the bend of Botanical Road. The area kno ...

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

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

New Zealand Qualifications Authority The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA; mi, Mana Tohu Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is the New Zealand government Crown entity tasked with administering educational assessment and qualifications. It was established by the Education Act 1989 ...

, 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. Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of New Zealand's culture and way of life. The or ...

(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: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

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

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, 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

* * 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 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 {{NewZealand-fieldhockey-bio-stub