Setting the record straight

Yachting New Zealand announcement following TVNZ programme

Changes set to take place at Yachting New Zealand were featured on ONE Network News on Wednesday 16 March. The clip is now available to view on the TVNZ Website.

Yachting New Zealand's CEO Des Brennan, would like to further clarify the issues presented and in particular to correct the implied closure of the Future Champions Academy: "In TVNZ's report of an interview with me, and broadcast in ONE News last Wednesday, March 16, there may have been some confusion as to the future of Yachting New Zealand's Future Champions Academy.

The Future Champions Academy will not be closing. It will however be renamed, probably becoming Yachting New Zealand Sailing Academy," says Des Brennan.

"There will also be an Olympic Squad. The new roles, which will guide the changes we must make, will be advertised this Saturday. The TVNZ report, taken in its entirety, reflects both the failure of yachting recently to deliver any medals, and what yachting intends doing about it," he said.

Yachting New Zealand is establishing an Olympic Director role, the purpose of which will be to create Olympic Sailing Champions for New Zealand, in direct alignment with the goals of SPARC and the expectation of the New Zealand public.

A Youth and High Performance Director will take on the role of directing the Yachting New Zealand Academy to prepare the most committed and accomplished candidates for transition and possible selection into the Olympic Sailing Squad.

Yachting New Zealand is also looking to drive the areas of participation, development and recreation delivering directly to Clubs and Members by leading initiatives to address issues affecting our national membership. A National Programmes Director is to be appointed for this sole purpose.

The National Programmes Director will deliver and direct programmes nationwide and support our Yacht Clubs by providing guidance and training to grow participation, support development and increase retention. Regional Development Officers and other dedicated staff in the areas of Coaching Development, Safety and Technical and Programmes Support will help ensure the common goals of the National Body and our national membership are met.

For more information: http://www.yachtingnz.org.nz