Megan Dimozantos, the new president of FMC, is known to many in the outdoors community for her extensive work with FMC, Backcountry Trust, LandSAR, Rotorua Bike Festival and her regular written contributions to Backcountry Magazine.

FMC's Executive Officer Communications Masha Oliver caught up with Megan online over a second-morning coffee to find out about some topics not covered in her election campaign. From her home office in Rotorua, which she shares with dogs Spud and Paddi, Megan talked about her favorite backcountry snacks, latest adventures and mostly about her vision for the future of FMC.

Read more on Wilderlife

Clubs are able to re-register under the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022 from October 2023. FMC is preparing some useful information for clubs to make life a bit easier in transitioning to the new rules.

Incorporated societies will be required to make some changes, details of which are expected to be published in September. FMC will provide information on the changes, tailored to outdoor clubs, after this date. While clubs should be aware of the changes in the new Act, we suggest waiting until the regulations and FMC's information are published before clubs delve into the specifics of the changes and start drafting new rules.

Congratulations to this year's King's Honours recipients Rochelle Constantine, Chris McLean, Anthony Pettinger, Arthur Sutherland, David Towns and Kathryn Wood for their contribution to conservation, outdoor recreation and education in Aotearoa New Zealand.

It is wonderful to see the important work of our wider community members acknowledged and celebrated.

There is still time to get your club competition going this year! A perfect thing to do on a club night during the long cold winter evenings. The winning images of a club's competition are eligible to be entered by the club into the FMC competition. FMC individual supporters can also enter and are pre-judged by FMC with the top shots gaining entry to the overall competition.

There are some great prizes this year, thanks to our sponsors: Bivouac Outdoor, Outfitters, Aspiring Safety, Wilderness Magazine, Potton and Burton, Fiordland Packs, and Excio.

Information on how to enter is on our website and resources to help run a club comp are available on Wilderlife.

Entries close on 1 September 2023 for individual supporters and 15 September 2023 for clubs. If you have any questions, please contact photocomp@fmc.org.nz.

Screen an outstanding collection of adventure films from the NZ Mountain Film Festival to raise funds for your club.

Each year, the NZ Mountain Film Festival aims to showcase films from high-octane sports such as skiing, climbing, kayaking and mountain biking. It also features increasingly topical environmental and mountain culture films to inform and entertain.

To host a local screening, you can choose a one-night or two-night film package, all of which have won awards at the 2023 NZ Mountain Film Festival. The films are available for private or public screenings from 1 August 2023 onwards. Click here for more information, or contact programme@mountainfilm.nz to register.

Federated Mountain Clubs free school tour

Federated Mountain Clubs is proudly supporting the NZ Mountain Film Festival to offer a selection of films which can be shown free of charge to school students and Scout groups. Any school or Scout group can register by emailing programme@mountainfilm.nz. Click here for more information.

The Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club (OTMC) are celebrating 100 years of tramping and mountaineering in Dunedin during Labour Weekend (21-23 Oct 2023). Events include two short trips, a visit to the club’s Ben Rudd’s property and a centenary dinner. To register visit www.otmc.co.nz, or email otmcnz100@gmail.com.