From stadium job to the Commonwealth Games a joyful leap

Events and Venues Rotorua stadium and sports advisor Karrie-Ann Tuck is taking a sabbatical to work at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Photo / Stephen Parker

If you have been behind the scenes at a major sports event, you will have experienced the organised chaos making it all possible.

There are a lot of moving parts and behind those moving parts are dedicated and driven individuals making sure everything goes to plan.

One such person is Events and Venues Rotorua stadium and sports advisor Karrie-Ann Tuck, who is about to realise a dream in April when she takes annual leave to go to the Gold Coast and work at the Commonwealth Games.

She applied to work for Goldoc, the 2018 Commonwealth Games organising committee, and will be the deputy venue transport manager at track cycling venue the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane. The role involves organising transport at the venue, for officials, media, VIPs and, most importantly, the athletes.

The 32-year-old had always been sports mad and had fond memories of watching cricket with her dad as a child and getting up in the middle of the night to watch the All Blacks play overseas.

"I've been wanting to collect as many experiences as I can in sporting events. My old boss, Tia Smith, is over there as a contractor as well and she wanted someone she knew to come and help out, so I put my hand up," Tuck said.

When Tuck talks about the Commonwealth Games, her passion for sport is clearly evident.

"I love my sports, I love my New Zealand sports. I'll wake up at 3am in the morning to watch someone go for a medal. I'm quite excited about the cycling and I'm going to try and get along to the squash to watch Amanda [Landers-Murphy, of Rotorua].

"I will be lucky if I get out, though, it's a big job," she said.

The Games will be bigger than any event she has worked at.

"The biggest I've done before was the [British and Irish] Lions game here. It will be good to bring back all that knowledge for next time we have a major event here."

The former Rotorua Girls' High School student studied interior architecture at university in her early 20s.

"My flatmates were both in hotel conferencing and they had better work stories. So I thought: 'Actually, I quite like the sound of this event business.' I never looked back."

She got a foot in the door of event management selling tickets for Events and Venues Rotorua.

In 2013 she worked at the World Rafting Championships in Rotorua and realised it was definitely the career for her.

"It hit when they had the opening ceremony and we had all the different athletes from all the different countries - all the accents and the anthems - it was so cool. It was such a good buzz, that's when I was like: 'This is what I want to do.'

"The thing about events is they are so positive because everyone wants to be there, you're already starting out positive. It's generally a really nice industry to be in."

Events and Venues Rotorua operations and event development manager Crispian Stewart said the experience Tuck would gain at the Commonwealth Games was "personal development you can't buy".

"Karrie-Ann makes me look good; she is the detail. I say, 'Yes, yes, yes' to these big events, then I turn to her and say: 'Right, how are we going to do this?' She will be missed here, but she will bring back so much experience," Stewart said.

When asked what she has learned during her time in event management, Tuck said: "Always have a plan B - and plan C, plan D, plan E and plan F."