Introducing our new development officer
Introducing the new Development Officer for Canterbury Rugby League- Dominic (Dom) Tola
Dom joins the Canterbury Rugby League team on the 1st of August transferring from Nelson where he has spent the last 14 months employed by the NZRL Southern Zone as the Tasman Rugby League Development Officer. He was also employed as the Operations Manager for Nelson Softball with time demands shifting for each role between the Summer and Winter seasons. Both of these roles have enabled Dom to develop all round skills to deliver sports to school students and training and upskilling volunteer coaches, trainers and managers. Schools in the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough areas benefitted the most from his work as he delivered Backyard League programmes to primary and intermediate schools. His school tournaments grew with popularity and he introduced a separate female division in 2018 with team entries for both boys and girls doubling for this years tournaments.
Prior to his employment in Tasman Dom completed both a Bachelor of Physical Education and Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Otago in 2016 where he also completed multiple papers relating to sports development and management.
Dom’s role in Canterbury will see him primarily delivering rugby league programmes into schools, organising primary, intermediate and secondary school tournaments and engaging with clubs that wish to do the same in their surrounding schools. He will also be involved in upskilling junior coaches and co-ordinating junior representative teams.
He has always had a passion for the sport of rugby league, and in recent years this passion has grown from the sport itself to include a love for and understanding of how our sport can have positive impacts off the field and within the community.
Tasman Rugby League and Southern Zone Rugby League wish Dom all the best with his new role in Canterbury. Dom has set up a good base going forward for rugby league in Tasman, with planning for the Simon Mannering Cup, Senior Spring Comp and representative teams all well underway. In the interim, the management team in Tasman will continue to carry on the great work Dom has been doing, whilst actively seeking a replacement.
