Timaru’s Cate Paddon has been selected as the New Zealand participant in the first trans-Tasman exchange for female motorsport officials.
Paddon, cousin of New Zealand’s world rally star Hayden Paddon, heads to the Castrol Gold Coast 600 in October this year, before an Australian official heads to New Zealand to volunteer at the ITM Auckland SuperSprint two weeks later.
The new motorsport officials exchange programme is an initiative of Women in Motorsport New Zealand (WiMNZ), an advisory group of MotorSport New Zealand, and Women of Australian Motor Sport (WAMS) and aims to strengthen motorsport ties across the Tasman. The exchange enjoys the support of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship (VASC) in providing the opportunities at two VASC events for the exchange participants.
Paddon has been involved with motorsport most of her life with mother Karen Paddon well-known for her work as the motorsport manager for Levels Raceway and the South Canterbury Car Club in Timaru.
Along with being a licenced competitor relations officer (CRO), Cate Paddon handles the roles of race secretary and/or event organiser for an array of race meetings at Levels and contributes at national level, initially leading MSNZ’s youth advisory commission and now as a member of MSNZ’s race advisory commission. This year she has also led the development of a new race series called the SS Cup, a class above the ever-expanding 2K Cup series and a class below the well-established Oscar series.
The 21-year-old says her inspiration to apply for the trans-Tasman female motorsport officials exchange stems from wanting to be more than simply a spectator at a great race event.
“I wanted to be immersed in the event and this was an opportunity for that. Everything I do in motorsport is voluntary, but I think you get out more than what you put in, which makes it all the more worthwhile.
“I hope to be able to see how Australian motorsport is run compared to New Zealand, learn what they do differently and whether I believe there to be any benefit in adopting or adapting their practices to make motorsport in New Zealand more successful. And of course I just want to have a great time working with the Australians!”
This will be the first time Paddon has attended the hugely-popular Gold Coast 600 Supercar race meeting. “I’ve worked at the Pukekohe Supercar event for the last three years, the first two as part of the Supercar secretary team and, last year, working as a trainee CRO with the support classes.”
Paddon also recognises the positives for New Zealand motorsport from this kind of programme for the sport’s officials, virtually all of whom are volunteers. “I think this exchange (and any similar) is a fantastic chance to recognise all those behind the scenes in motorsport. Everything I do in motorsport is for the love of the sport and never for recognition and there are hundreds upon thousands of others thinking the same, but an exchange that recognises an official shows Kiwi motorsport as a whole appreciates the work we do. It’s also a chance to demonstrate to the motorsport and non-motorsport community the crucial role volunteers and officials play.”
When asked about equal opportunities for males and females in motorsport, Paddon responds: “I think on the official side there is equal opportunity to progress. In my experience males are respectful of a female’s opinion and the role they serve and are helpful when wanting to progress. As a competitor, I think the line is a bit more blurred. There’s the issue of a women progressing on her own merit versus progressing because she’s a female. Although there certainly aren’t as many female competitors competing in the sport, I do believe that if they have the ability most will progress naturally up the ranks. Programmes like this officials’ exchange and the Supercars funding a female driver are great initiatives to promote the sport to females and give them a chance to stand up and announce themselves as deserving. Females perhaps aren’t always as good at putting themselves out there and self-promoting.”
Deborah Day, the MSNZ board member who represents Women in Motorsport New Zealand, is delighted to the new exchange programme offers young people like Cate Paddon the opportunity to learn and grow in their motorsport roles.
“Every event has its own unique characteristics – be it venue or location,” says Mrs Day. “Supercars have excellent procedures and processes in place for event management, volunteer recruitment and logistics, which Cate will get to experience first-hand. It’s also a chance for her to see how areas like race control work under the management of Tim Schenken, who is incredibly experienced internationally.
“Cate has a wonderful grounding in our sport, having grown up around it and volunteered for many years at Levels and for the South Canterbury Car Club. I think she will definitely gain experience and observe the different approach required for this level of event.”
Day adds: “Overall, this exchange programme is a fantastic opportunity for a volunteer to attend an event the size of the Gold Coast 600 – the sheer scale of a street circuit, logistics behind the event and number of volunteers required to manage an event of this nature is not something we commonly see in New Zealand. Our events tend to run on purpose-built race tracks, so it’s something quite different.
“This is an important first step in WiMNZ’s role in a wider initiative to develop women in leadership and senior officiating positions globally, and also strengthens our working motorsport relationships with Australia.”
Paddon will be asked for feedback about the exchange to help develop the programme for future years. She will also be sharing some of her experiences at the Gold Coast 600 on the WiMNZ Facebook page.
On the Australian side of the exchange, Tracey Rowley has been selected to travel to and work at the ITM Auckland SuperSprint. Rowley is an experienced volunteer official with a range of expertise including flag marshalling, event administration and stewarding; she also sits on CAMS’ Australian Officials Commission and was the recipient of the CAMS Official of the Year in 2013.
For more information about Women in Motorsport New Zealand, visit the advisory group’s new website www.womeninmotorsport.co.nz.
