When Sarah Tuapati spent her Year 13 Gateway time at what was then known as Sport Southland, it cemented her decision to pursue a career in the sport and recreation sector. 

Fast forward a few years and Sarah has come full circle, again joining the regional sports trust, now called Active Southland, as its new events coordinator. She will be working alongside Active Southland Events Manager Laura Faherty. 

Combining events and active recreation is a coming together of two loves for Sarah, who has a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation and a Masters in Sport Management. 

She has joined the Active Southland team fresh from working in functions and events at Ascot Park Hotel. The Ascot Park Hotel role showed her how exciting and fun events can be, particularly now that the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have eased. 

“Coming out of Covid with events picking up again is exciting. It’s quite a fun time to be coming back into it.” 

Previously she has also worked as sports coordinator at Verdon College, which also allowed her to have a hand in organising and running events. 

“I have always dabbled in events. Events are exciting. The actual event day is fast paced and exciting, it’s a lot of fun.” 

Combining that fast-paced excitement with a love and appreciation for sport and active recreation has been a dream come true for Sarah. 

“Sport is always what I’ve done. I was a really sporty kid and played in a lot of rep sports teams.” 

Her love of all things sport is also demonstrated outside of work – she is a scorer for NZ Cricket, a role which provided the hugely exciting opportunity of being involved in the Women’s Cricket World Cup at the start of the year. 

She and her family also enjoy exploring the many walking tracks around Invercargill and you can find them out and about most weekends. They are also heavily involved in the Kaiviti Kids Club, a club for Fijian children to help them connect, learn about, and explore their Fijian heritage, culture, and language, using mostly active recreation methods. 

Article added: Friday 07 October 2022