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A successful Yachting New Zealand annual general meeting was held at the Otago Yacht Club in Dunedin recently.
It was the first time the AGM had been held in Dunedin for about 20 years and it attracted a good turnout from local clubs as well as others from further afield.
The main changes saw two new members ratified to the Yachting New Zealand board - Arabella Brawn and Bridget Winstone-Kight - as well as the re-election of Jenny de Lisle and Angus Haslett.
Clubs also approved a modest increase to the affiliation fee for the 2019/20 season, which clubs will need to be mindful of when reviewing their budgets for next year's sailing season.
On top of that, there were some proposed changes to Yachting New Zealand's constitution which were ratified.
"It was nice to see the clubs in the region take the opportunity to come along to the AGM," Yachting New Zealand chief operating officer Andrew Clouston said. "Our feeling is that there's a really positive feeling around the sport at the moment with lots of great things going on."
The meeting opened with the observation of a minute's silence for the passing of Muritai Yacht Club stalwart Patrick Millar and renowned boat designer Alan Warwick.
Yachting New Zealand chairman Greg Knowles noted that the strength of Yachting New Zealand lies with its clubs and their members as well as strong programmes and services. He also talked about the fact the organisation is in a sound financial position but that challenges lie ahead, which was why the small increase to the affiliation fee was necessary.
Chief executive David Abercrombie talked about the strategic direction of Yachting New Zealand, as well as a sport-leading environmental strategy, and the work about to begin on a research project to focus on understanding the various influences that make sailing attractive but also what keeps people away.
He also talked about success achieved on the world stage, which will continue to inspire young people, as well as the new website and database which were both launched recently.
Yachting New Zealand's board took the opportunity to hold a board meeting at Sport Otago on the Friday before the annual general meeting. They then attended a social engagement at the Otago Yacht Club when representatives from every Dunedin club attended.
The next annual general meeting is due to be held in Auckland in 2019.
