David Tait – Ambassador for Adventure Fun & Safety

David brings twenty years of experience in Youthwork, Outdoor Education and Event Management to his role at TrackMe NZ. He enjoys working for TrackMe NZ as he believes that we can positively impact people through what we do.

David’s role as Ambassador for Adventure, Fun & Safety at TrackMe NZ is focused on supporting people to be safer in their work and play; wherever they are. Having spent more than three decades as an active outdoor recreationalist and sportsperson he has a broad range of knowledge and experience. He has a passion for working with people and this led him to roles in youth work and outdoor education, including creating the TrackMe.Life GO-4-12 Youth Adventure Race in 2006. He was the Director of the Kiwi Adventure Trust. It was through this role that he connected with the team at TrackMe NZ. David was looking for a way to enhance the safety of the GO-4-12 and the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Adventure Racing Championships. By using TrackMe’s hardware and systems the Kiwi Adventure Trust was able to run adventurous events and activities such as the TrackMe.Life GO-4-12. David describes this technology, as game-changing.

David had a belief that the programmes he ran needed to be safe, fun, and educational and he brings this philosophy to his role at TrackMe NZ. “It is obvious that we can remove most risks from life by not doing anything that involves risk, but I don’t believe that is living. That is called existing. A smarter approach is to get the experience and the support to allow you to safely grow into increasing levels of challenge. This is one of the key philosophies behind the GO-4-12 as we wanted it to be an authentic adventure and have the participants leading themselves. We didn’t want to have adults shadowing them, but from an organisation standpoint we need to have the oversight that allowed us to answer that important question: ‘Where are they and are they OK?’ TrackMe NZ gave us this ability and it was a game-changer.”

David uses a variety of devices in his work and pursuits and his favourite five are the Garmin inReach Mini 2, Garmin inReach 66i GPS Map, Garmin inReach SE+, Garmin Instinct watch and the Spot Gen 4. He uses the Garmin inReach Mini 2 for day missions and overnighters and loves the compactness and the way it pairs with the Instinct watch. For multiday instructional work, he uses the Garmin SE+ as it has an excellent battery, and for planning Adventure Racecourses he loves the Garmin inReach 66i GPS Map. Some people may be surprised to see the Spot Gen 4 in his favourite five, but he loves the simplicity of the Spot, and they are a key element of the GO-4-12 safety plan. David also uses the TrackMe Pro+ Health and Safety monitoring tool and as he is a keen solo adventurer, he likes the visibility and oversite that this system gives.

If you would like to talk to David about how TrackMe could provide you or your organisation with increased safety, communication and staff visibility, feel free to contact him by email at TrackMe NZ.