The New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation is proud to announce the appointment of Paris Heyd as the national sporting organisation’s first full-time employed General Manager.

The sport of ice hockey has continued to grow to impressive new heights in recent years, with record player numbers, participation and fan engagement across our national men’s and women’s leagues.

NZIHF President, Andy Mills, was delighted with Paris’ appointment to the role, saying that the time was right for someone in a full-time position to take the sport to the next level.

“Ice hockey is growing at an impressive pace in New Zealand, and to keep up with this growth, we need the experience, resource and passion that someone like Paris brings to our national sporting body.”

Paris’ role in the organisation will be to oversee the day to day running of the NZIHF and to assist the NZIHF’s portfolio holders, board members and regional clubs, in delivering strategies that grow participation and awareness of the sport.

Paris brings a wealth of hockey experience to the position, having played professionally in France as well as representing New Zealand at nine world championships, and in more recent years, being a member of the global IIHF development programme – and that’s without mentioning his many years of commitment to Dunedin’s Phoenix Thunder NZIHL team!

The NZIHF’s ability to appoint a full-time employee is a reflection on the hard work the NZIHF’s board, volunteers and regional clubs have put in to the sport over the last several years. “We can’t continue to sustain the rapid growth we’ve been experiencing on a volunteer model alone; the resource a full-time employee brings will enable all of our stakeholders to continue to assist the NZIHF passionately, while keeping sustainable workloads for all” said Mr Mills.