PERRY’S PASSION
Death of a hockey doyen
One of Hockey Manawatu¯ ’s stalwarts, Perry Kingsbeer, has died, aged 70.
Kingsbeer, who died on Sunday morning, was a long-serving board member and has been one of the driving forces of junior hockey in the region for nearly 30 years.
Kingsbeer got the junior hockey competition as it is now up and running in 1988.
It is believed back then there was only intermediate hockey and above, but Kingsbeer helped start competitions for years 1 to 6, which are now thriving.
Hockey Manawatu¯ now has 88 junior teams, more than 1000 players, as well as 25 intermediate teams.
Junior hockey was his passion and he put a huge amount of work into it over the years. Even when he handed over the reins this year he was still down there every Saturday morning during the season. He was still involved around the turf doing odd jobs like fixing goals, fences and lights.
Kingsbeer first joined the Manawatu¯ board in 2002 and stood down last year. He was made a life member in 2009 and was the first winner of the service award that began in 2004, which he also won in 2009.
He had originally been a rugby man, but once his four kids got involved in hockey, he was in as well, boots and all.
Three of his children played rep hockey and he had a proud moment when he coached two of his daughters and his son at a Hatch Cup rep tournament in the mid 1990s.
One of the ways he was able to sustain the junior hockey competition was from a 1992 Hatch Cup tournament in Palmerston North. He had all the games filmed from towers and made into goal packages on tape, which were sold to teams.
That made about $22,000 and that gave junior hockey a real boost, but also helped Hockey Manawatu¯ .
He was the man behind the lolly scramble at the end of junior hockey each year and put in a lot of work in maintaining the junior competition’s standards and growth.
Kingsbeer, who has been previously been nominated of Manawatu¯ sports administrator of the year, also had a time as acting chief executive of the association.
He was also the president of the Palmerston North Cosmopolitan Club and was a keen fisherman.