Meet the Team
Organisational Structure
Cook Islands Aquatics Federation consists of an Executive board of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and committee members who are elected at the AGM.
Romani Katoa
President
Leslie Katoa
Vice President
Lisa Iro
Secretary General
Marion Cowan
Treasurer
Kieran Chan,
Leslie Chan,
Nick Carter
Executive members
Petero Okotai
Wesley Roberts
Kirsten Fisher-Marst
Athlete Commission
Horst Miehe
National Coach
Coaching Team
Horst Miehe
Head Coach
Horst Miehe, the Cook Islands swimming coach based in Auckland, New Zealand whose extensive experience has been key to the development of international competitive swimming by Cook Islands swimmers. A highly respected coach nationally and internationally Horst early in his career guided 4 New Zealand record holders, multiple New Zealand Age Group Champions, a National representative and a club that ranked 10th at National Age Champs despite a town population of only 7,000.
Currently the coaching director at Howick Pakuranga Swim (HPK) Club, the HPK programme has delivered multiple National Representatives at all levels culminating with 2 Olympians for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Horst is an international Fellow of the American Swim Coaches Association. In 2009 Horst became a FINA educator spreading the swimming word in such tourist hotspots as Ethiopia, and Brunei dar es Salaam. Horst has delivered both Level 1 and Level 2 FINA courses.
On the local New Zealand swimming scene Horst has been the President of the NZ Coaches and Teachers association as well as a board member, an ex officio member of the SNZ board. In 2012 Horst was recognized as a Gold SNZ Coach. Horst has been involved in delivering silver and bronze courses for Swimming NZ and is currently on the Board of Water Safety New Zealand.
Kieran Chan is a seasoned ex-swimmer starting his swimming career at the age of 8 in Papua New Guinea. His talents brought him to many international competitions all over the Pacific until he stopped swimming competitively at the age of 18. He has experience as a swimmer in Papua New Guinea as well as Australia and has coached in three different countries, Australia, Samoa, and now the Cook Islands. Kieran is excellent at making swimming fun and rewarding for swimmers of all ages. His attention to detail and investment in the swimmers' well being shines bright. Kieran loves that he gets to pass down his knowledge to the next generation and has hopes that his work inspires other Cook Islanders.
Kieran Chan
Coach
Leslie Chan
Coach
Leslie Chan started swimming competitively at the age of 9 and since then she hasn't been out of the water. While being a swimmer herself, she started teaching swim lessons in the United States at the age of 12 and continued on throughout her adult life. Her passion for making people enjoy the water as much as she does goes hand in hand with her push for making people fit by using nature's best resource. Leslie loves teaching others how to make swimming easier and enjoyable focusing on those who may be timid. She also enjoys making sure children get involved in a sport that has not previously been offered in the Cook Islands. Similar to Kieran, Leslie hopes to pass on her knowledge to the next generation so that they can continue to give Cook Islanders the opportunity to learn how to swim.