EXECUTIVE MANAGERS

The Executive Council is responsible to the Board for the day to day management of the Association and comprises the following members:

Executive Director - James Mitchell

James was appointed the NZCPA Executive Director at the end of 2015. James brings a wide range of skills to his current role overseeing the Executive team (who are all volunteers) within our organisation. The Executive Director role acts as the interface between the Board (strategic and governance) and the Executive who are charged with the delivery of the sport.

He is just crazy passionate about all aspects of polo. He has had a long association with the sport in New Zealand and in particular his club Kiwi. James represented NZ at numerous international competitions and also travelled extensively for polo as a player, coach and referee.

  • NZ Competitions Director 2000-2015
  • NZ men’s team 2002-2017, 2025
  • Founding member of Central Canoe Polo, misc. positions including President.
  • Member of Kiwi Canoe Polo Club 1994-onward. Committee member most of that time (and still) and past President.
  • ICF A referee
  • International coaching experience: Scandinavia, India, China, Malaysia in recent years. Involved in coaching various club and regional teams for the last 20+ years.
  • Played all his career for Vikings teams winning numerous titles. These days he plays slightly more socially for the Vikings Valhalla team.

James can be contacted on nzcpaexecdirector@gmail.com​​​​​​​

Competitions Manager - Craig Irwin

Craig joined the executive team August 2024.

Craig has 3 kids who play canoe polo currently at Intermediate and high school level in Palmerston North (the 2 at high school level also play national league for Manawatu Kiwi). 

While he has no real experience in canoe polo, he has been involved in sports all his life on and off the field at grassroots level right up to International level.

Craig has been interested in governance and sports event management for quite a while. He started while on his OE in the UK by running a weekly Touch sports league and eventually working for the England Touch association running their national championships in 2002 - 2005. During this time he was involved in preparing a bid for the 2006 European championships. 

Upon returning to NZ he has run weekly touch modules since 2010 in the manawatu and created and run regional events under the banner of my own entity "Grassroots Touch". 

He is currently involved with the Touch world cup in England running the referee side of the tournament.

Craig has held many Goverence positions in sports (Soccer, Touch and Rugby League) since 2002 and is currently the Touch New Zealand High Performance Referee director.

He loves problem solving and creating draws, especially ones that can be a challenge to work out.

Craig can be contacted on nzcpacompetitions@gmail.com

Squads Manager - Ngawini Prasad-Smith

My journey with Canoe Polo began in 2018 when my eldest son took up the sport at intermediate level, soon followed by his younger brothers. Since then, I’ve been proud to support the game across multiple levels—from junior Club Champs to managing the Senior Women’s team at The World Games 2025. I’m excited to continue working alongside our elite squads and contribute to a team culture that supports athletes, managers, and coaches to achieve their goals and represent Aotearoa with pride.

Ngawini can be contacted on nzcpasquadsdirector@gmail.com

Co-Communications Manager - Georgia Wheeler

Georgia is a fourth-year veterinary student based in Palmerston North. Managed the NZ U18B team at the Oceania Championships this year, and have represented the Paddle Ferns with gold, silver, and bronze medals at the World Champs and World Games. Excited to take on this new role and keep contributing to the sport!

Georgia can be contacted on nzcpacomms@gmail.com

Co-Communications Manager - Ashlee Greaves

Ashlee holds a Bachelor in Sport Coaching, majoring in Strength and Conditioning with Nutrition. She has represented New Zealand multiple times and was part of the U21 Junior Paddle Ferns team that won gold in 2022. Ashlee is really excited to work alongside Georgia in this role and support the executive team.

Ashlee can be contacted on nzcpacomms@gmail.com

Funding Manager -  Elizabeth Marama

Elizabeth joined the executive team mid 2024.

Elizabeth is an English high school teacher, based in Palmerston North. She got involved in Canoe Polo when her eldest son started playing way back in 2016 - generally a bystander, although she was part of the Central Women’s Vet team that one time, where she learnt a lot about how canoe polo is a lot more difficult than it seems.   

Currently she's the C grade coordinator for Kiwi Canoe Polo Club, having also been the U18b Men’s teams manager for 2023. She is loving the opportunity to give back to the commmunity that's been a part of our lives for so long.

Elizabeth can be contacted on nzcpafunding@gmail.com​​​​​​​

High Performance Manager - Karl Reece

Karl has been our High Performance Manager since 2023.

Karl can be contacted on nzcpahp@gmail.com

Refereeing Manager - Cam Butler

Cam has been our Refereeing Manager since 2020.

Cam can be contacted on nzcpareferee@gmail.com

Schools Manager - Kelly Sherratt

Kelly has been our Schools Manager since 2018, she and the Schools council are responsible for running our NZ Schools program.

Kelly has had a long history with Canoe Polo right from playing to now coaching, refereeing and is the Chairperson for Hawke’s Bay Canoe Polo.  She has had so many career achievements today but the best so far has to be leading the way to the latest development of the Aquatic Facility at the Mitre 10 Regional Park in Hawke’s Bay.

Kelly is really looking forward to the future of schools canoe polo and is really hoping to see the participation grow in the next few years all over NZ.

Kelly can be contacted on nzcpaschools@gmail.com


Assistant Schools Manager - Lisa Burgiss

Hi, I’m Lisa. Im excited to step into the role of assistant Schools Manager. My professional background is in accounts, health and safety admin, and staff training. My real connection to canoe polo comes through my family. 

Although I haven’t played myself, I’ve been involved since 2018 when my eldest of four sons started playing. All four of my boys play for their schools and the three eldest play in national league. My husband plays socially, coaches both school and national league teams and is part of the Hawkes Bay and Karamu High School Canoe Polo committees. 

Canoe polo has become a big part of our lives, and I am looking forward to supporting Canoe Polo within schools.

Lisa can be contacted on nzcpaschools@gmail.com

Squad Clerk - Claire Osborne

Claire can be contacted on nzcpasquadclerk@gmail.com

Coaching Manager - Jacqui Frost

Jacqui rejoined the executive team as the coaching manager at the end of 2022.

Jacqui has a long association with polo. Both her husband and son either play or have played at an international level.  She is a primary school teacher who specialises in developing and delivering resilience programmes and has also worked with a state owned enterprise as a trainer coach. Jacqui is also currently undertaking further education in educational psychology. 

Jacqui’s passion is in empowering teams and in developing people.  Jacqui wants to ensure our coaches are well resourced and supported at every level of Canoe Polo.  Ensuring that we have a nationwide network of coaches that have a culture of learning and development is a key component of this.

Jacqui can be contacted on nzcpacoaching@gmail.com ​​​​​​​