Andrew Langman
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Your Community Unsung Hero's Name
Andrew LangmanTell us about the unsung hero and what makes them deserving of this award (over the last 12 months)
Me mahi tahi tatou more te oranga o te katoaWe should work together for the well being of everyone.
Andrew Langman is a person with a simple goal, to make athletics fun, accessible, family orientated and a community focussed event. His positive, humble attitude embraces the most beginner of athletes to the most competitive.
Whanaungatanga and manaakitanga are always visible at Cambridge Athletic and Harriers Club (CAHC) and never more so than at children’s club nights and the annual Cambridge Pentathlon. Andrew’s leadership has ensured from young to senior, that all effects and contributions within the club are valued and appreciated. He ensures tuakana/teina is mentored through the engaging of members who have moved onto senior Athletics or Harriers, being part of the coaching and guidance of the junior athletics club. They can be seen taking the Mini Club, working the iPad on the finishing line and generally helping throughout the evening with team managers.
Andrew is a welcoming face amongst many officials, club members and athletes. Andrew ensures everyone feels valued and acknowledged. He recognises the importance of sustainability within changing environments and continues to create positive opportunities, embraces ways to adapt athletics to ensure children are at the heart of the sport and their wellbeing and mana are at the heart of his decisions and communications.
"Cambridge Athletics is about family and communities, it's about striving to be the best you can be and attaining PBs," Langman said.
Throughout the organisation of the 2019 Waikato Bay of Plenty Colgate Games, Andrew was a key person on the organising committee. He found ways to problem solve a number of issues, work collaboratively with the three lead organising committee members. He contributed to the full organisation across the competition days and leading up to the event. All throughout this, he made clear welcoming communication to all local and district club members. Continuing to imbed the philosophy he held as Chairperson of the Cambridge Athletics Club, that athletics was for children, for personal and team achievements within kotahitanga, that together we are stronger building on the knowledge and experiences of all for a common good.
Due to Andrew’s positive involvement in the Waipa community, he fronted an engagement campaign, supporting his and the clubs profile to say “NO” to family violence. This campaign was also supported at club nights through his leadership in ensuring that local and external communities had opportunities within Athletics, no matter their situation.
During the Covid struggles of all club competitions being cancelled and with smaller clubs having less facilities and coaches, Andrew had facilitated neighbouring club members to join the Cambridge Athletics club nights at no cost. This showed Andrew’s support to local and neighbouring communities in bridging gaps for athletes development, supporting the athletes families and to provide access to coaching, when it was not available at the athletes club.
In 2018, Andrew entered the club into the Athletics NZ Club Development Program, a four year joint commitment with our national organisation. This involved workshops for club planning, coaching workshops (for local junior through to senior coaching developments), opportunities to interact with clubs around the country. This also brought in extra resources of equipment to the club and specific coaching for the equipment.
Throughout the 2021/22 season Andrew ran club nights ensuring the Health and Safety of everyone was paramount and created an environment where all sectors of children’s 3 – 14 year olds could participate within the guidelines. As Cambridge Athletics Club (CAC) is the largest non-City club in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region, this was a large organisational task for keeping athletes and parents separated in groups and still providing a high standard of coaching and support to the athlete (making things feel as normal as practical).
In 2020/ 2021 due to Andrew’s relationship with ANZ and during a period where he was travelling and working in Hastings/Napier. Andrew was still chairperson at the CAC a subcommittee of the CAHC, yet he also volunteered his time for the local Hasting/Napier athletics club. He provided extra support for a struggling club, in assisting with planning and officiating at club nights. The Hastings/Napier club had acknowledged their appreciation of the support.
What organisation have they provided their services to?
Andrew’s family have been involved with the CAC for the last 10 years, 7 years of which he has been chairperson of the CAC committee and the last year where his children have taken up other interests.Andrew is a family and community minded person. He has served above and beyond the local role of CAC and the CAHC management committee, with getting heavily involved with both Athletics Waikato Bay of Plenty and Athletics New Zealand. At the end of the 2021/22 season, Andrew resigned as the President of the CAC. He leadership has been identified as being needed at a higher level, to support the region moving forward. This will lead to positive and exciting times ahead.
Serving time on the Athletics Waikato Bay of Plenty Children’s Committee, Andrew was the voice for children as their advocate for the Executive board. He has ensured that children across the Waikato Bay of Plenty have a voice and are treated with dignity and respect within the Waikato Bay of Plenty. Through Andrews professional career, he has a high skill of conflict resolution management, this has been drawn on at several points over the last few years. He focusses is on allowing children to be children, having fun and developing, while high level items are delt with in an appropriate manner.
In 2019, Andrew was on the Waikato Bay of Plenty Colgate Games committee, the largest children athletics event in the country. This committee met regularly over the period of a year to ensure that the annual Colgate Games to be held at Porritt Stadium was well planned, organised and ran to meet the needs of the 1900 athletes that took part over the 3 day period. Since this event, Andrew has led the organisation of several secondary schools championship events, from city, country and Waikato championship events.
In 2020/2021 Andrew supported the Hastings/Napier club by volunteering at club nights, as his work had moved him to work weekly in the area. While doing this, he continued to support the CAC as the club’s Chairperson, running club nights, the Pentathlon and being their representative on the Waikato Bay of Plenty Committee.
In 2021/22 season, Andrew supported the Te Awamutu club in arranging a different interclub event held out of the Te Awamutu grounds. The Te Awamutu club had to cancel their ribbon day event due to the covid traffic light system, yet with Andrew and the TA club president, Murray Green, both Cambridge and Te Awamutu clubs where able to provide an event held within the rules. This was an integral event that year as almost all other athletic events had been cancelled or postponed. The 7 – 14 year age groups were able to attend and have a fantastic collaborative day with talks that this may become a regular event.
What is the impact of what they have implemented during the nomination period (in the last 12 months), or how have they been instrumental in creating change?
In the 2021/22 season, for the Cambridge led pentathlon Interclub event, Andrew performed almost 80% of the works to have the event functional. This included undertaking all of the health and safety protocols, organising the officials, the scoring sheets, the coffee cart, the staged cleaning of all the toilets, the marketing to the public, the circulation of information and then organised the team for the event setup on the day. Andrew ensured that the event was going to happen, under any lock down traffic light system requirements.Andrew and the committee organised for every volunteer and official to feel whanaungatanga and manaakitanga by being offered a voucher for some food and drink for their assistance throughout the interclub event day. This was greatly appreciated by all on the day, including the coffee cart people who felt part of the community. This event occurred even though Andrew had advised the CAHC management committee that it would not make any money. With the full club support, the focus was to provide for the community. This event continued to embrace local businesses, build community spirit, ensure athletes had enough food and drink and whanau could reconnect in the carpark over a coffee. Thus continuing to provide innovative ways to reconnect.
In 2021:22 season, Andrew supported the CBG/TA Ribbon Day, as mentioned above.
In 2021/22 season he created an atmosphere for return to sport at CAC ensuring that whanau could be assured that Covid Health and Safety regulations were met so that 3 – 14 year olds could take part.
Throughout the 2021/22 season, he continued to develop rangatahi leadership through having past athletes run the mini club, building leadership through tuakana/teina. This has positive effect on the club as rangatahi aged 13 – 18 build a strong sense of belonging, leadership skills and place within their community.
Andrew planned the Cambridge Pentathlon as an interclub event which saw one of the only interclub events held in the Waikato Bay of Plenty region giving tamariki and rangatahi a chance to perform within the sport they love. It continued to hold the officiating and committee members in the region together by having them reconnect and celebrate athletics. This saw 63 tamariki taking part in the Cambridge Interclub event.
Andrew continues to look for ways to empower rangatahi through leadership. With many past athletes coming back to volunteer at the club, in roles within mini club and age groups, tamariki are inspired by their older peers. This bond between senior and junior members, creates a healthy fun environment where the philosophy to continue to develop and build on personal strengths and achievements, at their own pace, is widely recognised. Team managers, patiently and positively encourage rangatahi volunteers as this bond develops a whanau and kotahitanga approach to a life long love of being active.
Andrew ensures balance is better and knows the athletes within his club benefit from a balanced approach to life, there is never any pressure for an athlete to be at every event rather it is celebrated that they participate
How has their service been of benefit to the community or members in the last 12 months?
Andrew embraced the challenge of creating change within the children's sector of the CAHC sub-committee (CAC) and repaired the fractured years of relationships with the adjoining Harriers Club and management committee. Andrew had taken on the Chairpersons role when the CAC was is a very negative space, diminishing in numbers and diminishing and community interaction through the local schools. He leadership has left the club is a very supportive position from its members and from the CAHC management committee.Andrew dragged the CAC into the present, through the support of the Athletics NZ ‘Get set Go’ and ‘Run, Jump, Throw’ coaching program / philosophies and slowly the committee filled with like minded positive, patient people who only wanted the best for children. Other clubs from within the region were welcome to send committee members or team managers along to the CAC, creating a collaborative space for learning. His philosophy and the culture within his club, attracted athletes and their whanau from around the wider Waikato Bay of Plenty area to join in the 2021/22 season.
As a volunteer his unending enthusiasm, continues as he assists at other local events such as Colgate Games, Ribbon Days, Waikato Bay of Plenty events both children’s and adults and embraces organising the annual Waikato Bay of Plenty Secondary events.
Because of his amazing ability to connect, and ensure aroha for the sport, Andrew is able to embrace an event with neutral eyes and the wisdom to create change where needed. Having organised the recent Waikato Bay of Plenty event, he ensured officials could relate well to children, would listen and respect them while understanding the demands of the day, to ensure the well being of all.
Any concerns raised, ensured they were met with consideration, taken on board with a clear explanation and were noted so that any changes that needed to be made, would be done at a more appropriate time, in a respectful way for all. This continued to be evident throughout the 2021/22 season, as he embraced athletes that for whatever reason, felt they were best suited to the Cambridge philosophy, ensuring the athletes continued to compete and/or assist in the sport they loved. Andrew was heavily tested in the 2021/22 season with allowing a family to join the club, that had been removed form other clubs. He opened a pathway for the family to come back to the sport, while continuously protecting the wider club and diffusing the negative side effects that came from it. Andrew’s creativity and focus on looking to keep kids involved was tested and full credit to him for a successful season from it, for the family involved.
At any event Andrew connects with each team manager, helping to work through concerns from parents and athletes ensuring all members feel valued, listened to and still have a sense of belonging. He connects with young families and can often be seen running mini club, chatting to members of mini club and finding new ways to engage families. Throughout the 2021/22 season, Andrew made a concerted effort to go above and beyond his normal approach by ensuring he went into the car park, spoke to whanau beyond the barriers and made sure mini club was comfortable for junior athletes, mini club volunteers and new team managers. His level of involvement was outstanding, considering he no longer had children in Athletics…. They are a dance team now.
The Cambridge Pentathlon is an annual success which sees clubs from throughout the region compete. Andrew worked tirelessly throughout the season to ensure he has officials, referees and community members that support his philosophy of children and fun first, to make the event a community success and an important date in the annual calendar. The reputation and inclusion of this event has lead to Andrew vetting and responding to several Auckland club emails requesting invitations, where everyone is welcomed.
In 2021/22 season, Andrew supported the Te Awamutu club in arranging a different interclub event held out of the Te Awamutu grounds. The Te Awamutu club had to cancel their ribbon day event due to the covid traffic light system, yet with Andrew and the TA club president, Murray Green, Cambridge and Te Awamutu clubs where able to provide an event held within the rules. This was the only event run on the Christmas side of the season (Nov 2021). This was a brilliant day reconnecting officials, team managers, tamariki and rangatahi in the sport they love.
In terms of Andrews ability to lead and empower, it was evident as the club reached record high numbers of children in 2018 -2019. These numbers continued to remain high even throughout Covid with 42 tamariki involved in U7’s 61 tamariki involved in U11 - 7 and 36 in U15. Surprisingly, even through the Covid period, the senior members of CAC has continued to grow, where at times Cambridge was high represented at the local senior open meets. This shows the culture created by Andrew keeping the athletes in the sport.
"At the core of our success is the interest shown by young people in athletics and we're expecting around 380 to register on our 2018-2019 season's opening night," said Langman.
“I just want to say thanks again for coming down and running a Run, Jump, Throw Workshop at our club. I had a lot of positive feedback from the parents involved. Including just how much more confident they will be with the kids.” – Andrew Langman.
In February 2022 Andrew developed a modified annual Cambridge Pentathlon to an interclub invitation only event. Due to the Covid Healthy and Safety guidelines, our normal event was not able to be run, due to the share numbers that typically attend. This event was the only event open to 10 – 14 year olds, in the Children’s Calendar, on this side of the 2021/22 season, with 63 tamariki taking part. The community wide appreciation for the club being able to run the event, was feed back to us and included the Waikato Bay of Plenty committee providing a comment of thanks in their annual general meeting.
It is no wonder that Andrew is a much sought after person and we are lucky to have retained him for both CAC and the Waikato Bay of Plenty Athletics for so long, considering his young whanau no longer take part in the sport. Now that Andrew has stood down from the CAC chairperson role, we are incredibly pleased to see him appointed as the president for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Athletics Region 2022 season onwards.
Comments
Parent and ex committee member (Posted 2022-09-30 13:00:07)
Andrew has been fundamental in the success, positive culture and adaptability of Cambridge Athletics for several years. This nomination is so very well deserved. Thank you for all you have done for our community, from providing a positive programme and service to the athletes and for supporting teenagers to be confident volunteers and recognising the importance of developing youth. So grateful for your input, commitment and amazing outlook. Just awesome!
By: Linley Steele