Meet Our Sports Tutors
Ruth Naidoo – Academic Leader
Master of Health Science
Appointed as Academic Leader for Sport in 2020, Ruth leads the team in the delivery of all Toi Ohomai Sport courses.
Ruth believes that variety is the spice of life and the sport and recreation industry is one which allows awesome variety. Her experience as a gym owner, strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer and athlete add fuel to her love of teaching.
Ruth's experience helps her work towards her mission of creating a positive learning environment to complement her passion for teaching and student success.
For any sport programme related enquiries please contact Ruth.
Allister Field – Senior Academic Staff Member
Master of Sport and Exercise (Strength and Conditioning)
Allister is a passionate educator with extensive experience in teaching and curriculum development. As a Senior Academic Staff Member at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, he currently serves as the Programme Coordinator for the L5 Diploma in Sport, Exercise, and Recreation, and supports the delivery of the University of Waikato Bachelor of Sport and Human Performance.
Allister's research pursuits, strength and conditioning experience, and teaching have shaped his particular interest in exercise physiology and prescription. His master's thesis, focused on the acute metabolic demands of sub-maximal running with lower body load, providing valuable insights into endurance training methods. With a commitment to ongoing professional development, Allister holds an Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA) Level 1 Coach Accreditation and is the Head Trainer and Director of Programming at RAW Fitness in Mount Maunganui.
Allister has a wealth of diverse teaching experience, including two years spent as the Athletic Director of an international school in Vietnam. He is happily married with two young boys, and as a family, they enjoy being active, spending time at the beach, and appreciating the outdoors.
Benjamin Gemmell – Academic Staff Member
Bachelor of Sport and Recreation
Ben teaches on the Toi Ohomai Certificate in Fitness (Cert4fitness) course specialising in personal training and group fitness.
Ben is currently studying his second year of Adult Tertiary Teaching qualification, and completing the Aupikitanga o te Reo Maori through Te Whare Wananga o Aotearoa. Having spent more than 15 years in the fitness industry, and is a Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, WINTEC and AUT graduate.
Ben now runs his own business, Progressive Training Ltd. specialising in whanau hauora with the vision to see people stand confidently, self-assured and strong to enhance the wellbeing of their entire families and communities.
Ben currently has made it to three national championships in 2020 including powerlifting, strongman and CrossFit.
Carolynn Margan – Academic Staff Member
Certificate in Sports Massage
Carolynn teaches on the Toi Ohomai therapeutic and sports massage course. She is particularly interested in the sports massage area after spending 25 years working in this field with our elite athletes, focusing on recovery and injury prevention.
Carolynn is very involved with rehabilitation after surgery and is still working with the public.
Dr Daniel Wilson – Academic Staff Member
Doctor of Philosophy
Dan is passionate about holistic wellbeing, performance, and evidence-based practice. He teaches a range of topics on our certificate in sport, exercise and recreation in addition to the sport, health and human performance degree in partnership with the University of Waikato.
Dan’s PhD focused on enhancing the health and well-being of staff at Air New Zealand through lifestyle medicine interventions.
His current postdoctoral research focus areas include behavioural medicine, aviation medicine, and technology-integrated interventions to enhance wellbeing of rangatahi.
Ellen Pope – Academic Staff Member
Bachelor of Health Studies (Massage and Neuromuscular Therapy)
Ellen teaches on the Level 5 Sports and Therapeutic Massage course at the Mokoia Campus.
Ellen has a Bachelor of Health Studies (Massage and Neuromuscular Therapy) and is a former massage therapist for High Performance Sport New Zealand, having worked primarily with Rowing New Zealand.
Alongside her teaching role Ellen also runs a clinic in Rotorua, helping people from a variety of backgrounds achieve their sports, fitness or wellbeing goals.
Dr Kelly Pender – Senior Academic Staff Member
MDA - Doctor of Māori Development and Advancement
Kelly (KP) has been the programme coordinator and tutor on the Certificate in Fitness (Cert4fitness) course since its conception in 2002. Known as more than just a course but a way of life, KP delivers across a broad range of areas within the course.
He recently completed his PhD with Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi where he used pūrākau and kaupapa Māori methodologies to capture what effective teaching and learning for Māori within the ITP sector might look like.
Hobbies and passions include rugby, off-road running and surfing.
Mike Dudson – Academic Staff Member
Master of Science
Mike’s teaching areas are coaching, sports psychology, sport development, and work integrated learning. He draws on his experiences as a national team coach and high-performance manager. Mike has experience in governance at both the regional and national level. Mike taught health and physical at secondary school for 10 years and has worked in coaching education.
Dr Paul Winwood – Senior Academic Staff Member
Doctor of Philosophy
Paul teaches on the Toi Ohomai Sport and Recreation courses and specialises in teaching biomechanics and exercise prescription. Paul has a passion for resistance training and research. He is an AUT Research Associate.
Paul competes in powerlifting, has a wide variety of research interests and is currently the world leading primary author on the sport of strongman. He finished his PhD entitled On Strongman Implement Training and Application in 2015.
Crawford Robb – Academic Staff Member
Bachelor of Sport and Recreation
Crawford teaches within the Cert4Fitness team at Toi Ohomai, based in Tauranga specialising in strength & conditioning, anatomy, exercise analysis, programme design and group fitness. Crawford is also the Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Whai Professional Basketball franchise based in Tauranga Moana.
He is completing his Masters through the University of Waikato working with both Whai professional female and academy level athletes. He is an avid amateur athlete within mountain biking and wakeboarding and his passions lie within the fields of sport, sport science and teaching.
Sheree Cooper – Senior Academic Staff Member
Bachelor of Sport and Recreation
Sheree teaches on the Toi Ohomai sport courses and her passion is working with students who are keen to make a positive impact within the wider sport, health and wellness industry, both personally and professionally.
Sheree completed her degree studies here at Toi Ohomai and celebrates the opportunity to have been taught by the talented team in the sport department.
Over the last 19 years Sheree is proud of, and has loved, being part of the teaching teams with the Certificate in Fitness (Cert4fitness) and now, diploma and degree courses.
Slade King – Academic Staff Member
Slade King has operated as a personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach between here and Australia for the last 10 years now. This has given him a vast range of practical skills and experience in the sports and fitness industry.
Alongside a lifetime of participation in both recreational and high performance sports, Slade has been highly involved as a lead strength and conditioning coach for the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union. He is highly familiar with both old and current best practices used to enhance physical performance and reduce the likelihood of injuries.
Teaching in the sport and recreation courses is satisfying as it enables him to give back by sharing his knowledge and passion with others, in the field he loves.
Dr Tracey Clissold – Academic Staff Member
Doctor of Philosophy
Tracey Clissold has 30 years’ academic experience in exercise science and sports nutrition and health. She is currently a tutor at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, and completed a PhD at Auckland University of Technology on the effects of an osteogenic jump-landing programme on bone health in premenopausal women. Her research is ongoing in this important area of Women’s health, with a phone App based on these research findings (OSTEO-GAINS), soon to be available at the App store.
Tracey is the mother of two children and has previously represented New Zealand in distance running, winning several national marathon titles and is a four-time Auckland Marathon winner.