Kathy Tracey - XŌtaki College Alumni Trust Hall of Fame 2026
Kathy’s family connection with Otaki started when her grandfather was given two sections at the Beach as payment for an outstanding debt during the great depression in the 1930s . Her grandad built two baches and the families would spend many holidays and weekends at the Beach.
Eventually Kathy's parents Peter and Maureen bought a block of land on Otaki Gorge Road and moved full time to the area.
As a teenager, Kathy joined the surf club and after a long and arduous campaign of swim training, Neale Ames, the swim coach at the time, told her she ‘swam like a brick’. But not one to be discouraged, Kathy battled on and eventually gained her certificate. Going on after a few years to become lead lifeguard.
Coming to Otaki College for her 7th form year, Kathy particularly enjoyed the opportunity to play Basketball, and to experience co-ed education having previously being at an all girls school. She made new friends and got herself prepared for her goal to study Psychology and Social Work at Massey where she had the fortunate experience of flatting with me. One of our other flatmates decided to get married that same year so of course we had to organise a stag do. By around 5pm he was up the tree outside the flat singing up a storm with the rest of us trying to convince him to come down. Obviously his singing wasn’t to everyone’s taste as some of the neighbours decided to call the police. They duly arrived and demanded to know what was going on to which Kathy replied “nothing to see here – its just a stag do”. The police then enquired as to what Kathy was doing there if it was indeed a stag do? Kathy then tried to convince them that she had jumped out of the cake.
Kathy enjoyed competing at surf carnivals and focused on the Board and Surf Ski, eventually leading her to selection for the Women’s Flatwater Canoe Squad to be based in Gisborne. In 1986 the team competed in the Commonwealth demonstration event at Lake Placid, USA, where they won a silver medal. World Championships followed where they completed a spirited 500m race but were ultimately out paddled by East Germany, Russia and Sweden.
Kathy’s sport went on the back burner when she headed off on her OE in 1987. Armed with an unconfirmed job promise in London, a Social Work Degree from Massey and a £50 note from her mother, she headed off on an adventure that was to ultimately last 30 years.
Throughout her time in London Kathy built her professional experience, becoming a sought after child protection specialist. She also travelled extensively including Africa and the US, also being close to Europe opened up lots of cheap travel opportunities and so she explored most European countries by train, bus, and campervan.
In 1991 Kathy was offered a position in Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. The opportunity to work somewhere new and very different appealed. Originally only there for a 3 month contract, Kathy stayed on the island for 25 years. During that time she moved out of frontline social work into training and development, eventually starting her own business.
As the business grew, Kathy also wanted to rekindle her love of being on the water and was invited to join the Guernsey off-shore rowing club. During her time at the club, she rowed in a number of classes but her favourite was the coxed fours. She was part of the Women’s crew that won Gold at the Offshore World Champs in France in 2004 and also coxed the Guernsey Men’s crew to a silver medal the same year.
During her time in Guernsey, Kathy also continued her academic studies, gaining a number of post graduate qualifications including a Master’s in Education from Exeter University. Kathy’s business was well respected and won the Guernsey business awards Small Business category, as well as Kathy herself being awarded Boss of the Year.
Over this time she also continued to appease her adventurous streak, with a number of exciting trips including: Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro; hiking along The Great Wall of China & the Fish River canyon in Namibia, and wild pack canoeing the Allagash River in Maine.
The event that captured many peoples fascination though, and Kathy’s most famous achievement was the Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race of 2005. Kathy and 3 other Guernsey Rowing Club Women rowed the 4800 ks from the Canary Islands to Antigua, through storms and huge seas, gaining a Guiness World Record for their troubles. And as they were the first ever Women’s Fours Crew to Row any ocean unassisted, they will hold that record forever. To put that into perspective that would be the same as rowing from here to Auckland and back 4 times.
The Atlantic rowing project raised over (NZ$135,000) split between the MS Society & Cancer Research charities. Inspired by that success, Kathy ran the London marathon raising another (NZ$30,000) this time for the Rainforest Foundation, buying a Boat and Medical Supplies for a Peruvian Village.
After selling her UK business, Kathy and her husband returned to New Zealand in 2015. Since being home she has continued her work, being one of only 3 Master Credentialed Coaches in New Zealand. She is a Leadership coach and Facilitator, as well as Conference Speaker. She has served as Board Member and President of the Australasia Chapter of the International Coaching Federation.
After an invitation to speak at New York University Abu Dhabi, Kathy was invited to join ‘The Sand Sisters’, a group of women who were retracing the steps of their ancestors annual pilgrimage across the desert. Of course she said yes, and another adventure was completed.
After an unfortunate ankle break at the beginning of 2024, Kathy was determined to complete her next planned adventure. She worked hard to jump through all the hoops her physio threw at her, and got to knock off Everest base camp in May that year.
More recently, in February 2025, Kathy completed her first 100km ultra trail marathon. Over the last 2 years she has gone from struggling to run 5km to completing the Queenstown, Hawkes Bay, Taupo, and Taniwha marathons, the 50km Tarawera Trail and a number of other trail events, including the Kunanyi Mountain Run in Tasmania and the 25km Faultline Ultra in the Wellington hills.
At work, one of Kathy’s favourite jobs is as a Leadership Facilitator at Outward Bound. This mahi brings together her experience and expertise in leadership and coaching, her love of the outdoors, and her belief in the value of adventure and challenge.
I think it would be fair to say that Kathy has achieved more in her lifetime than most and she stands out as an inspiration to everyone she meets.
It is with great pleasure that I introduce this year's inductee into the XŌtaki Hall of Fame – Kathy Tracey.
(Inducted by Peter Northern)