Issue date
Yachting New Zealand Service Awards are all about exemplary or selfless services to the sport of yachting – and Gary Corkin is truly one deserved to be recognised. They’re generally the type who don’t seek fanfare, don’t like a fuss, they just get on and get the job done.
When Gary Corkin joined Sailability Auckland as Head Coach nearly seven years ago, he was tasked with lifting the standard of the club sailors to World Class and Paralympic level. Bringing with him a half century of sailing instruction and coaching experience (Gary conducted his first clinic at Torbay Sailing Club in 1960) he applied his thorough and technical approach, and the results started to show. The culmination came this year with a team of eight competing in the 2012 World Championships. With Gary’s support Helena Horswell won the 2012 Access Liberty Servo World Championship, while another three Sailability Auckland sailors, Tim Dempsey, Jan Apel and Paul Francis, represented New Zealand at the Paralympic Games in London.
Here is more detail that was attached with his nomination submitted by Sailability Auckland:
Gary conducted his first clinic for Torbay Boating club in 1960 and provided informal coaching assistance to other sailors until joining the Army in 1961. He was trained as an Army instructor and became chief instructor for the Army School. Gary was Military Attaché at the New Zealand Consulate from 1986 until 1991 in Washington DC. When Gary returned he introduced Training Systems methodology to sailing coaching. He is committed to incorporating the concepts of ‘Human Performance Technology’ when designing sailing programmes.
Human Performance Technology is a scientific approach to developing and applying strategies to improve human performance in a measurable way. It uses proven methods to reproduce exemplary performances in individuals and teams. He designs ways to implement those strategies using ‘Criterion-Referenced Instruction’ techniques as developed by Dr. Robert F. Mager and Peter Pipe. The advantage to the sailor is that skills are developed before added knowledge is applied. He has spent large amounts of time analyzing how competent sailors carry out even the simplest tasks and Gary designs sailing programmes so time is only spent on proven effective activities. He believes that almost all skills needed to learn to sail can be best learnt out on the water.
From what Sailability Auckland is aware of, he has put thousands of hours and dollars into sailing training for anyone that is interested in the sport. In the early 1990's Gary was employed as instructing roll at Ponsonby Cruising Club, and nearly ten years later he set up a company called SKETA Sail but sadly his main partner passed away.
Gary moved to New Zealand Sailing Academy in about 2006 as a Coach primarily working for Sailability Auckland, where he was asked to lift the standard of sailing to a World Class and Paralympic Level. He took the first team of disabled Sailors from Sailability Auckland to an over seas regatta, the 2007Australian Access National Championships which were in Adelaide. All the sailors placed well, and it all snow-balled from there.
Every year now, sailors from Sailability Auckland are competing overseas and doing very well.
This brings us to 2012, when a team of eight sailors competed in the Access Class World Championships and Helena Horsewell won the 2012 Access Liberty Servo World Championship. Brendan Tourelle was highest overall New Zealander, placing eighth in the open class. Also three Sailability Auckland sailors went on to represent the country at the Paralympics: Paul Francis, Tim Dempsey and Jan Apel. All three of these sailors received extensive training from Gary over the years.
As he was originally tasked to do some years ago, as a coach, he was set to the task to lift the standard of Sailability Auckland to train Paralympic and World Class level sailors. On 30/6/12 at Gary Corkin's retirement send off, he said "I leave with a great sense of accomplishment that his task was fulfilled ".
Gary is now taking on a more casual role with Sailability Northland helping to set up their programs.
