Sir Ronald Stewart "Ron" Scott (21 January 1928 – 7 August 2016) was a New Zealand sports administrator. He was the chairman of the organising committee for the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games, and was Chef de Mission at the 1984 Olympic Games. In Wellington he helped establish the Westpac Stadium.
The 1974 British Commonwealth Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were officially named "the friendly games". There were 1,276 competitors and 372 officials, according to the official history, and public attendance was excellent. The main venue was the QEII Park, purpose built for this event. The Athletics Stadium and fully covered Olympic standard pool, diving tank, and practice pools were all on the one site. The theme song was "Join Together", sung by Steve Allen. The Games were held after the 1974 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Dunedin for wheelchair athletes.
New Zealand competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. 130 competitors, 98 men and 32 women, took part in 76 events in 18 sports. The country recorded 11 medals, including eight golds, resulting in the nation ranking among the top ten in the medal table.
He attended Otago Boys' High School and the University of Otago, then was a radio broadcaster in Timaru and a manager for Illott's advertising agency in Auckland.
Otago Boys' High School (OBHS) is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools, located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Originally known as Dunedin High School, it was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 1885. The main building was designed by Robert Lawson and is regarded as one of the finest Gothic revival structures in the country. Situated on high ground above central Dunedin it commands excellent views of the city and is a prominent landmark.
The University of Otago is a collegiate university located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It scores highly for average research quality, and in 2006 was second in New Zealand only to the University of Auckland in the number of A-rated academic researchers it employs. In the past it has topped the New Zealand Performance Based Research Fund evaluation.
He served as chairman of the Hillary Commission, the forerunner to Sport New Zealand. Scott died in Upper Hutt on 7 August 2016, aged 88. [1] [2] [3]
Sport New Zealand is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand.
Upper Hutt is a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area.
Scott was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to sport, particularly the Commonwealth Games, in the 1974 Queen's Birthday Honours. [4]
The dignity of Knight Bachelor is the basic and lowest rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the most ancient sort of British knight, but Knights Bachelor rank below knights of chivalric orders.
The Queen's Birthday Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were published on 7 June 1974 for the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, and Grenada.
