Please feel free to post your candidate blurbs here.
Kia ora, I am Rowena Knill, and I am standing for NZLARPS National Secretary. I have been part of NZLARPS for many years and have held the position of secretary several times previously. I am familiar with the requirements of the role and certain that I can fulfil them well.
I am passionate about larp in general, and specifically in promoting larp in New Zealand. I have written and GMād many larps over the years of many different styles. Iām also passionate about supporting new larpers as both players and GMs. I regular organise and support events to this end and I promote larping outside of NZLARPS to encourage new participants.
The specific reason I am standing for National Secretary is because NZLARPS has an obligation to update our constitution, policies, and procedures to align with the provisions of the Incorporated Societies Act 2022. This is no small task and needs to be implemented with community consultation. It is not a task to be rushed as it will shape the society in years to come. We have already started working on this and believe we should be aiming to complete this by the next AGM.
Because I am already familiar with the general duties of the Secretary, I will be in a good position to support the rest of the committee with implementing this. I have a good understanding of the why behind NZLARPS current and historical procedures which will be important for this task.
The last few years have been difficult ones for NZLARPS for many reasons, but I believe we are now in a position to move forward and encourage growth for larping and NZLARPS throughout New Zealand. Please consider voting for me.
NgÄ mihi,
Rowena
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My name is Alastair Kirkby and I am your current President and am standing for the role again. I have been part of NZLARPS for many years, since my first games. Initially I only signed up for the Paddywhack discount! But I stayed a member because I believe that NZLARPS has an important role to play in our community, connecting Larpers across the country, promoting games and events and being place where we can have our voice.
I am also a solicitor and barrister and believe that my skills and knowledge will be of invaluable assistance in crafting our new constitution and ensuring that we comply with the new rules and regulations.
My vision for the next year, one that those re-standing with me share, is that our members must be involved in the discussions around our future and, importantly, the shape that NZLARPS is to take as we move forward. I hope you will continue to support us.
Whilst I am standing unopposed, I feel it is important that I communicate with you a bit about me - as ultimately our Society is nothing without its membership, and I am aware that with the difficult last few years I have been unable to attend any event outside of Auckland.
As Rowena has said above, the last few years have been tough. And for the National Committee we have had major difficulties that impacted some of you. I share your frustration for those events and promise that I am working to ensure a return to normalcy in the next year.
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Kia ora! Iām Sally Hayes and Iām standing for National Marketing Officer 
I am the current South Island secretary and am a past National secretary and gen exec for Auckland - Iāve worn a lot of hats for NZLARPS since the South Island region was established and I sat as the first secretary until I moved up north (and then back down). I used to be a high school chemistry teacher up until the end of last year, and currently work at Stats NZ analysing the Census data.
I am standing for the Marketing role for a couple of reasons:
- I have lots of ideas! I was secretary during the pandemic, and watched a lot of our membership disappear due to our inability to put on any games or see each other. Now that weāve got a bit more momentum Iād like to:
- revisit my NZLARPS instagram idea (the youths arenāt on Facebook anymore) - a spot where anyone can submit photos of themselves at games, I can advertise games around the country, regional marketing officers can branch off with their own accounts if they have the inclination. Iāve also spent a bit of time with Facebook/Instagram marketing for the South Island and I think it could be a really powerful tool for gaining momentum with new membership.
- Sort out some resources for reinvigorating LARP in the regions. Weāre intending to start working on āintro to LARPā and āintro to LARP writingā stuff for the South Island, similar to the awesome work Ryan Paddy does with Auckland LARP Faire, and I think this would be a useful resource to spend some time generalising for use in any region. LARP can be quite daunting for new players and I think running events catered specifically to encouraging new players would be a good way to get people playing again.
- Update LARP lists. Thereās plenty of lists of LARPs that either the society owns or are free, but a lot of the links are dead or the information is out of date. Iād like to make a wee google website or a members page on the nzlarps.org website that holds this information in a centralised place that can be updated by each marketing officer (rather than having these lists belong to random members - awesome as they are).
- Last yearās committee had no one from the South Island on it, and was mostly members from Auckland! Our membership is one of the largest and we had no representation (this is of course because none of us put our hands up for roles). I think itās really important that our National committee has representatives from as many regions as possible. I have hung up my National secretary hat after a few years of service, so Iād like to try something different.
I have lots of experience in committees, not just NZLARPS. Iām committed and reliable, and really passionate about getting to play games as an adult - especially when everything sucks a bit like it has for the last few years. I hope to keep my South Island secretary hat as well, so that I can represent both my region and the country and continue to give back to the hobby that has given so much to me.
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Kia ora, Iām Brad Thompson and this is my candidate blurb for the role of National Marketing Officer or as I like to think of it - Ambassador of LARP.
I am the incumbent in this grand political bout for this National Committee position. Iāve previously held the National President title and have been heavily involved with NZLARPs and LARPing in Aotearoa for over a decade. I work within the creative media industry, run a RPG YouTube channel and run LARPs and other RPG events pretty regularly.
The age of Covid and the great floods and storms of recent years have hit the hobby hard but we are now reaching a pinnacle point of regrowth next year where touch wood we are passed all the once in a lifetime disasters and events can reliably run again.
A big growth area for LARP I found has been working with companies for attendee discounts for costume hiring and partnership deals to assist with advertising. These help lower the barrier of entry for new LARPers as well as provide an official stamp that folks unfamiliar with LARP can trust. It is one thing to drive out to a random campsite or meet in a park because some people posted an event on Facebook. It is quite another to go to an event sponsored or arranged through a well known entity. That is an area that can be explored more to make LARP more accessible. As well as continuing to build business connections for more discounts and partnerships.
One of the big growth problems Iāve found is I got a bunch of keen beans to try LARP but there arenāt enough events happening to point them at. Few LARPs are currently running and the ones that are sold out before new players get a chance to get a ticket. Demand is up but there are not enough games to go around. Iām hoping now we are entering a new year (where definitely nothing disastrous will happen) that will alleviate this. But in addition to that I would like to create some new resources to assist new game runners on how to run events in the form of instructional YouTube videos. These will help pull back the curtain on the daunting task of event running.
Many of the NZLARPS marketing resources are very dated and tired. I want to arrange some new photography to be done and create new marketing material to help showcase the hobby. Also I just think it could be a fun excuse to have a community gathering! The NZLARPS social media presence has been lacklustre across the board over the quiet years, which I intend to fix. Regular posts and videos will breathe some life into these platforms and not only help garner more attention toward LARP but help the community as a whole re-engage with the hobby.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Donāt forget to vote! We do need 30% of membership to vote to reach quorum.
TÄnÄ koutou katoa. I am Sarah Albom and I am running for national secretary.
I have been part of the LARPing community for almost a decade now, as crew, player, and even GM. Iāve always loved our community, and I want to give back by helping maintain our playerbase and welcoming in newcomers as we leave the COVID hiatus.
I chose to run for this secretary role because I (unironically) love organising. My favourite part of my role as a data analyst is cleaning and presenting data in clear ways that are sustainable and easy for future users to maintain. Itās music to my ears when I hear that practices and data systems Iāve implemented in organisations are still being used years down the line.
If I become the NZLARPs secretary, I will provide a fresh perspective on organising our data and documents so they are transparent, up-to-date, and sustainable. A benefit from my interest in data is my meticulous attention to detail when taking notes, and transforming those notes into something clear and concise before bringing it to the community.
During my presidential years of the AMERICA club (now Auckland Roleplaying Guild), I took initiative to design, integrate, and implement constitutional changes with community feedback. These changes ensured the club practices aligned with the changing interests and goals of its members, as well as following our host universityās updated policies. My current job involves taking a community-centric, people-powered approach to ensuring that our countryās legislation and Acts are implemented to the standard required. I believe this experience makes me an excellent candidate to assist NZLARPS in updating their constitution and processes in line with the Incorporated Societies Act 2022.
I would love to provide a fresh perspective and ensure our clubās information is up-to-date and transparent. I hope youāll consider voting for me this AGM!
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