State-of-the-art lighting has signalled a fresh dawn for Hockey Whanganui and its new operations manager is already getting stuck in.

Redvers Wilbur, in the role for less than two weeks, said he was in the middle of a “junior hockey extravaganza”, running taster sessions in schools around Whanganui.

“It’s a really nice part of the job because you’re seeing so many young people who could be associated with hockey here for many years to come,” he said.

The organisation’s board had handled management duties on a volunteer basis before he got the job.

“They are incredible. They were dividing the work amongst themselves,” Wilbur said.

“I’m taking over a lot of the administrative and development work because they obviously have their own lives and jobs to lead.”

Last year, Hockey Whanganui completed a $131,000 upgrade to the lights at its stadium in Gonville, with a security gate and electronic entry system also added.

Money for the projects came from the Four Regions Trust, the NZ Community Trust and Whanganui District Council’s Sport and Recreation Facilities Fund.

In 2023, a floodlight was out of action after its wiring was stolen during a break-in.

A string of break-ins and thefts around that time, including two wall-mounted infinity water heaters being stolen, cost the club more than $10,000 despite having insurance.

Wilburs said there had been repeated acts of vandalism – “usually on a small scale” – but the lights were more of an issue for the organisation.

“Now, we can get back to the business of playing hockey.

“We have a very busy programme during the week but there is very little hockey at the weekends.”

He said the women’s senior league continued to be strong and was Whanganui’s “marquee offering at an adult level”, with five teams competing and a possible sixth in the works.

There is currently no men’s senior league but a historical Whanganui club, Technical College Old Boys (TCOB), was reborn last year and played in division two of the Manawatū league.

Wilbur, former captain of English club powerhouse Cambridge City, has signed on.

A 4-2 victory over Massey University this week, after trailing 2-1 with minutes to play, meant TCOB was promoted to Manawatū’s premier league this season.

That means a second team from the club will play in division two.

“It’s a real success story, which is largely thanks to Colleen [Baylis, Hockey Whanganui board member] and other Hockey Whanganui greats,” Wilbur said.

“They decided it [TCOB] just had to happen, and it does.

“We need to have pathways for students coming through our junior programme – something to aspire to.”

He said the new lighting system was a step towards Whanganui hosting big games in the future and attracting people from all walks of life – “a community atmosphere, not just people who play hockey”.

“As someone who has been around the entirety of the UK playing hockey, the turfs and their settings here are generally so much nicer.

“Whanganui is a beautiful place to play. You’re in a park with a bank on one side and tall trees on the other.”

Wilbur, a history graduate and former secondary school history teacher, said the Whanganui facility was once “one of the great hockey centres” in the country.

“In 1968, Whanganui was in the final of the national men’s competition, which is extraordinary.

“It’s great to see that things are getting back to where they once were.

“We are trying to be the best we can be as a small region.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.