After nearly 15 years steering the course of sailing in Aotearoa, David Abercrombie will officially step down as Chief Executive of Yachting New Zealand on 30 June 2025. His tenure, beginning in 2010, has spanned a period of significant transformation for the sport, both in New Zealand and internationally. Under his leadership, Yachting New Zealand has evolved into a more inclusive, innovative and strategically aligned organisation—one that is now well positioned to meet the demands of a changing sporting landscape.
Abercrombie’s contribution to the sport stretches across multiple levels: from nurturing grassroots club development to ensuring New Zealand remains a consistent force on the Olympic stage. In his own words, he struggled to single out one particular achievement. That’s understandable—his tenure includes a host of standout initiatives and milestones that have reshaped the sport’s culture and structure in this country.
Among these was the introduction of the Women and Girls in Sailing strategy, first launched in 2019 and refreshed in 2024. This pioneering initiative aimed not just to increase participation, but to shift the dial on how the sport includes and empowers women and girls. It has since become a template for gender equity in sport at the national level.
Abercrombie also championed RŪNĀ, a framework for engaging schools and connecting clubs with their local communities. It’s a practical, future-focused initiative with a clear aim: to make sailing more accessible, better integrated into youth development, and rooted in community.
Then there’s Clean Clubs, a sustainability programme taken up by nearly 40 yacht clubs around the country, reflecting a growing awareness of environmental responsibility within the sport. These are just some examples of the broader cultural shift Abercrombie helped drive—moving the sport toward a model that values inclusion, environmental care, and innovation alongside performance.
The high-performance side of the sport also saw tremendous success during his watch. New Zealand sailors claimed nine Olympic medals during his tenure, including four at the Rio 2016 Games—a joint record haul. World championship titles followed, alongside sustained investment in athlete development. But Abercrombie also recognised that success wasn’t just measured in medals.
Well before mental health and athlete wellbeing became headline issues, Abercrombie was steering the organisation in that direction. One of his final structural legacies is Project Arotake, an independent evaluation of Yachting New Zealand’s high-performance programme. Its implementation—currently underway—marks a shift towards a more holistic, athlete-centred approach. A new staff role dedicated to wellbeing and performance speaks to the deepening maturity of Yachting New Zealand’s sporting culture.
Another major transition overseen under his leadership is the relocation of Yachting New Zealand’s headquarters from Takapuna to Milford. This is more than a move of bricks and mortar—it’s a strategic relocation designed to improve access to services, streamline operations and integrate more closely with the High Performance Sport New Zealand ecosystem. The new facility is expected to enhance everything from physiotherapy and nutrition support to data analysis and sponsorship engagement.
Throughout his leadership, Abercrombie remained acutely aware of the challenges yacht clubs face. Club membership figures have remained steady, even through economic turbulence, climate disruptions and the Covid-19 pandemic. Abercrombie frequently pointed to the resilience of clubs such as Mercury Bay Boating Club and Wairoa Yacht Club, which bounced back after severe weather events. In many ways, these clubs symbolise the spirit that Abercrombie so often praised—the tireless work of volunteers and the deeply rooted community ethos that sustains the sport.
Colleagues, partners and stakeholders have been quick to acknowledge the scale of his contribution. Yachting New Zealand Board Chair Greg Knowles noted his ability to build enduring relationships across the sporting and funding landscape. These include strong links with Sport New Zealand, High Performance Sport New Zealand, and the New Zealand Olympic Committee—partnerships that have underpinned continued success both on and off the water.
Sport New Zealand CEO Raelene Castle described Abercrombie as a “consistent driver of connection” among his CEO peers, recognising both his strategic insight and his willingness to share knowledge across the sporting sector.
Abercrombie leaves behind an organisation in good health—financially sound, performance-driven, community connected, and strategically future-focused. The new CEO will inherit a robust platform from which to navigate the next Olympic cycles toward Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032.
Abercrombie himself plans to spend more time with his family—and on the golf course. But his impact on New Zealand sailing is unlikely to fade. His legacy is not just in the medals or the programmes or the partnerships. It’s in the strength of the community he helped nurture—one that, as he said in his final message, “keeps showing up, hauling boats, flipping sausages, and cheering from the water.”
That, ultimately, is the true measure of David Abercrombie’s time at the helm: a sport that is more connected, more resilient, and more future-proof than when he first took the wheel.
