The 2025 club conference on May 24 brought together 75 delegates from nearly 60 yacht clubs across the country for a day of ideas, updates and collaboration at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club.
The event featured a line-up of speakers included Michelle Kitney, chief executive of Volunteering New Zealand; Samantha Alexander, national compliance and grants manager for The Lion Foundation; and Sally Carson, director of the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre.
Yachting New Zealand's national sport development director, Raynor Haagh, delivered a comprehensive "state of the nation" address, drawing on fresh insights from the 2024 club survey and the 2024 Voice of the Participant survey, conducted in partnership with Sport New Zealand. The data prompted lively discussion around what's working, what's changing, and where additional support is needed.
Breakout sessions before lunch focused on key operational areas, including safety systems, sailor development pathways, coaching resources and communications.
The day concluded with an open Q&A session featuring Yachting New Zealand chief executive David Abercrombie, board chair Greg Knowles, Haagh, and high-performance director Ian Stewart.
Below you can find all material from the conference.