09/09/2026
Over the weekend, we held our Annual General Meeting, marking the end of another season at the Tairua Pauanui Sports Fishing Club.
As we head into the 2026/27 season, we wanted to share President Tim Evans’ report from the AGM, reflecting on the 2025/26 season – the year that was, some of the Club’s achievements, and the many people who helped make it all happen.
⚓President’s Report 2025-2026 Season.
In 2024 the saying was “Survive until 2025”, the year when the country was expected to thrive, but the saying was shortened last year to simply “Survive 2025”!
In a year that has seen record numbers of business liquidations in the hospitality industry, the Club has managed to survive, and while our operating surplus has not increased in the past 2 years, it is still a surplus and has contributed to a strengthening balance sheet, where you will notice the increase in the Club’s term deposits. The Club’s financial position is actually the best it has ever been, and we can be reassured by that, even in these tough economic times.
Overall, Club membership numbers have been steady over the past 3 years, around 1860. Interestingly to note is the increase in our junior categories, up 20% in the past year. This is a great result as these members are the future of our Club, and one common challenge for many Clubs around the country is recruiting that next generation to continue the legacy, and in our case we are doing something right!
In the past year the Club has invested in some more capital items in the Club kitchen, including a new oven, and we have also invested in some new items of outdoor furniture to increase our seating capacity and comfort for our members, as well as two new computers for our office.
The weighmasters’ shed is complete and is proving invaluable. It is so good to have such a facility for our competition weigh-ins and the general weighing of members’ fish, so much better than downstairs in our entryway! Earlier this year, 11 members of the Club completed a one-day course on becoming weighmasters and are now all able to assist when required.
The Club has hosted some great events in the past year. On the tournament side, the Shimano Stand Up sponsored by Club member Michael Redgrave, the Ace Heavy Haulage Southern Blue Fin Tuna, the Gull Classic, the Rapala Top 10 Snapper, Family Boats Family Competition, the Okuma Easter Comp, Daiwa Land Based Comp, Storms Light Line and Top 10 Tuna, the Kilwell Month Long, the Kids Day On The Wharf, and of course the Real Interior Fish n Chicks that attracted a record number of lady entrants and also sponsors!
In May the Club hosted NZ Sport Fishing Council, Coastguard New Zealand, and the local Tairua Pauanui Coastguard team, as well as the TK Offshore Fishing team, for a seminar on the Southern Bluefin Tuna season and on all the boat and personal safety aspects to consider. It was a full house and the feedback was excellent. If you are not already a member of Coastguard, I would personally highly recommend it, and their courses are excellent for both experienced and those new to boating.
Our Club Captain Peter Maxwell and his team of helpers have again done a fantastic job with the Wednesday BBQs – keep an eye out for dates – and our ‘World Famous Meat Raffles’, with raffle income now a material income source for the Club. If Peter is not in the Club, we can always rely on Life Member Ray McIntyre to be selling the raffles and winning a few himself. Thank you, Peter and Ray.
The Club has also been well engaged with the wider community over the past year. During the cyclone earlier in the year, the Club opened its doors to allow use of the showers and bathrooms, and our members carried fresh water up to residents on Paku Hill. We also assisted non-resident members with house and bach checks. We completed what has become an annual local harbour clean-up day. We have also continued to host the weekly Art Group, Housie Ladies, and more recently the local Zumba and Salty Steppers groups. Our community-mindedness has seen us make the finalists in the Community Contribution Category in the TCDC Hauraki-Coromandel Business Awards being held in a few weeks’ time!
Marine and her team in Marine’s Kitchen have continued to provide members with great value and delicious menu options, also catering for the Sunday night roasts, Mid-Winter Christmas dinner, and special events at the Club like prize giving tonight and Father’s Day dinner tomorrow night, where the buffets will be fantastic. Marine is also the mastermind, and Quiz Master, for the Club Quiz Competition, a sell-out and full-house annual event that runs over winter and brings members to the Club for some trivia fun on those cold, wet nights.
It is hard to comprehend all the aspects that go into running a successful Club. Cie, our only full-time staff member, continues to show unwavering dedication and commitment to the Club, ensuring the smooth running on a daily basis and also the planning and ex*****on of all the tournaments and events she organises for us. It is a huge workload that she manages exceptionally well, and as you know, her door is always open for us. Thank you, Cie. Caitlin continues to run a tight ship when it comes to the Club’s finances, and she ensures everything is accounted for, recorded and reported correctly, as the auditors have also noted. We have been fortunate to have Liza filling in for Caitlin’s maternity leave the last few months, so a big thank you to both Liza and Caitlin for your financial management. And to all the friendly faces behind the bar that keep our glasses topped up and clubrooms clean, tidy, and well presented, thank you all of you.
Thank you to our Patrons, John and Shirley Haycock, who are regular and familiar faces around the Club and are a great support to our Committee and to our Staff.
To all our committee members, House Committee, Maintenance Committee, Dive Committee, and of course the Main Committee, including Vice President John Janssen, on behalf of the Club, a big ‘Thank you’ for the thousands of volunteer hours you all put into the Club. And a special thank you today to Dave Potter, Darrell Whiteman, Kevin Ashworth and Gary Conway, who leave the Main Committee this year, but most will stay on subcommittees. We have really appreciated your service, gentlemen. Thank you.
To our van drivers, weighmasters, record keepers, and all the others that volunteer time in and around the Club, and to all the sponsors, businesses, and tradesmen that make donations of products, services, and time to the clubrooms and to the competitions, “Thank you”; the Club could never do it without you all. I encourage all members to support the businesses that support the Club.
The last 12 months at the Club have been fun, with some great achievements along the way. I look forward to welcoming in the new committee and setting plans in place for the future. I see it as a great privilege to be your President. My final “Thank you” is to you, our members. We are all different, and it is bringing us all together that gives this Club the strength that it has. Please respect each other and respect our Club.
May your rods be bent and your reels scream!
Tim Evans
