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A lot of people get to a point where they want to give back to their sport and that's where Raynor Haagh has arrived on the eve of taking over as Yachting New Zealand's new NZCT regional support officer.
Haagh will be responsible for the southern area of the northern region, from south of Auckland Harbour Bridge and including Waikato, Thames and the Bay of Plenty, and will officially start in the role on April 9.
She will be a name recognisable to many, having twice campaigned for the Olympics (2008, 2012) in the women's keelboat and has won a host of national keelboat titles, including both the women's keelboat match racing and fleet racing titles in 2014. Haagh is a qualified keelboat instructor and is probably one of the first female commercial skippers of America's Cup boats in the world.
She brings a wealth of experience in other areas of the marine industry, having previously performed roles from active sailing and project management to marketing and operations. She has also worked for both the New Zealand Sailing Trust and Sir Peter Blake Trust and more than a decade ago was employed by Yachting New Zealand in an administration capacity.
"I'm looking forward to giving something back to the sport," Haagh said. "Having been part of the youth sailing scene coming through and also the high performance side, I'm looking forward to being on the other side and supporting clubs with their sailors coming through.
"I'm a people person so I'm looking forward to working with the clubs in the area and helping people get into sailing at any age and enjoying all aspects of the sport, competitive or social."
Haagh's core responsibility will be as a conduit between clubs and Yachting New Zealand and to support clubs and regions in their growth and development.
"Raynor has a long history and background in the sport and the marine industry," Yachting New Zealand chief operating officer Andrew Clouston said. "We're really excited about Raynor coming on board and think she has a huge amount to offer clubs and regions."
