New Zealand to focus on female talent

Rosie Chapman had previously coached in both Britain and Canada before moving to the USA where her impact was soon recognized as US Sailing’s 2017 National Coach of the Year.

Now in in New Zealand, her mission has shifted as she heads up the implementation of Yachting New Zealand’s Women and Girls in Sailing strategy that was developed last year.

The strategy aims to attract more female participants, retain those already sailing, and advance equal opportunities and operates under the three main platforms of culture, pathways, and programs.

“We are bringing more and more females into youth level so we have quite a healthy number of female coaches and sailors already,” Chapman said. “The big thing for me is retention, making sure we keep them in the sport and that we provide all the opportunities and they know where they can go.

“At the moment, I’m really taking a lead on how we are going to implement the strategy and using the right manpower and resources to do that. We are also looking at the best ways to implement pathways and how to get more females entering the high performance stream.”

Chapman had previously been leading the kiwi Laser Radial program, but her change of focus was largely brought about by the Women in High Performance Sport Residency Fund, which aims to establish a cohort of talented, highly capable, future female leaders, and high performance coaches.

Yachting New Zealand is one of nine national sports organizations to benefit from the residency fund, meaning Chapman is part of a high-level leadership program that will be crucial in her work on delivering Yachting New Zealand’s strategy.

“I’m really excited to have this opportunity and I’m really looking forward to working with so many top female coaches and potential high performance leaders on the program,” she said. “One of the most exciting things about it is working with other sports.”

For information on Yachting New Zealand’s Women and Girls in Sailing strategy, click here.