Stuart Gudsell (from left) and wife Dianne listen as Te Awamutu Rugby Sports & Recreation Club president Mark McNaughten prepares to present Stuart with a life membership award. Photo / Dean Taylor
Stuart Gudsell (from left) and wife Dianne listen as Te Awamutu Rugby Sports & Recreation Club president Mark McNaughten prepares to present Stuart with a life membership award. Photo / Dean Taylor
Te Awamutu cycling stalwart Stuart Gudsell has been made a life member of Te Awamutu Rugby Sports & Recreation Club.
Gudsell has been involved in the Te Awamutu Sports Cycling Club for about 30 years - as a rider, committee member and former club president.
His involvement in the club ramped up when his son Tim began cycling as a junior and went on to win national titles, on both road and track, before riding professionally in Europe from 2007 until 2012.
Gudsell was instrumental in organising the inaugural Te Awamutu Junior Tour in 2001.
The tour was held annually for 19 years and considered the premier junior tour in the country, attracting upwards of 250 junior cyclists from around New Zealand.
The under-15 to under-19 age group riders were eager to impress the national selectors who attended the three-day event.
Stuart Gudsell has been welcomed as a Te Awamutu Rugby Sports & Recreation Club life member. Photo / Dean Taylor
Gudsell’s hard work, determination and network of contacts ensured the success of the tour, with many winners going on to carve out careers on the professional circuit overseas, the club said.
Gudsell was president from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, a time when the club was in a “rebuilding phase”.
He, along with his dedicated and knowledgeable committee, was able to increase membership and build it into the strong, successful club it is today, the club said.
Gudsell still gets on his bike and races weekly in the E-grade during the Tuesday night Spoken Cycles Summer series.
As well as his passion for cycling, he was nominated as a club board member in 2008, and two years later was nominated as club board president, where he served as president for a decade.
Gudsell was always on hand to fulfill his duties as board president, always checking in with the general manager and staff and representing the club at events such as the Trustpower Community Awards, where they won the supreme award for community involvement and empowering volunteers.
Te Awamutu Rugby Sports & Recreation Club also acknowledge Gudsell’s wife, Diane, for her support of Stuart, at a code and club level.
Gudsell is the club’s third life member.
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