CHANNEL INTERVIEW: David Abercrombie
In Channel Magazine we love interviewing progressive North Shore people. Those people who play a significant part in the community and help to make the Shore such a great place to live. One such person is Takapuna resident David Abercrombie, the Chief Executive for Yachting New Zealand. The Abercrombie name is well-known on the Shore, especially in sporting circles. David is the uncle of leading basketballer Thomas Abercrombie, and many others in the clan have also tasted success in sports and related fields. David Abercrombie grew up on the Shore, attending Westlake Boys High School. He graduated from ATI with a Diploma in Physiotherapy and this became his profession. David then completed a post- graduate year in Canada and, after travelling and working, returned to set up a private physio practise in Milford. Prior to moving into the yachting role, he was instrumental in setting up HealthZone (the health centre at the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health in Mairangi Bay), in conjunction with Doctor John Mayhew. He has been involved in the continued development and provision of health services to many of our high performance athletes. Abercrombie also spent many years as the physio for the All Blacks, and from 1995 to 2009 he joined America’s Cup yachting, working with both Team New Zealand (1995-2003) and BMW Oracle Racing (2004-2009). He attended two Olympic regattas as the physiotherapist to the New Zealand yachting team, at Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004 - appointments which prompted an interest in other areas of high performance sport. David is a keen surfer, paddle-boarder and boatie – a power boat occupies his garage and a Bavaria 46 is kept on Bayswater Marina. Channel Magazine’s Aidan Bennett had this chat with David Abercrombie during September:
David Abercrombie
Yachting New Zealand’s
CEO Loving Life on the Shore
Although I have been involved in business and sport on the North Shore for over 20 years, I had never actually met David Abercrombie before. So, to tie in with the spotlight we have on our local yacht clubs (see following spread), I thought it was appropriate to interview ‘Abo’, as he is affectionately known by many. He obviously now plays a significant role in New Zealand Yachting and is also a “Shore” person through and through.
David Abercrombie was actually born in Scotland. As the name suggests, he comes from Scottish stock. His parents emigrated to New Zealand when his dad joined the New Zealand Navy. Elder brother Colin (father of Thomas) was born in New Zealand, after which the Abercrombie’s returned to Scotland, and David was born. Younger brother Iain (the former Auckland rugby hooker) was born when they returned to New Zealand a few years later.
The family lived in Campbells Bay with all three boys attending Westlake Boys. Apart from stints overseas, David Abercrombie has made his home in Milford or Takapuna ever since. He is passionate about the place.
Home for David and his wife Michelle these days is just a short stroll away from his beloved Takapuna Beach. He admits to being on the beach most days and at least three days a week he can be found Stand Up Paddling with his brother, Colin and friend, Dean Revell. David has four children: Scott (24), Nigel (22), James (13) and Charlotte (9).
“I have travelled extensively and I believe we are truly blessed with the natural environment we have in Takapuna,” says David. “It is as good as any place in the world and it is a thrill to see some exciting plans taking shape for its future. It’s no secret that we haven’t made the most of it in the past, but the enhancements being introduced by people, such as Dave Donaldson and Peter Wall – driving the National Ocean Water Sports Centre, and Alan Wiltshire and John Copson with their own exciting plans for turning Takapuna towards the beach, means that the future for Takapuna is looking very bright. The potential is unbelievable. Having travelled to a number of waterfront cities around the world, we are way behind and this can be attributed to the fact that opponents see the change at a cost of losing reserves and beaches. But this is not the case. These great steps are being driven by people who understand the need to look after the natural environment.”
Osteoarthritis in his hands led David Abercrombie to move from physiotherapy to yachting administration almost a year ago. While he still retains a majority shareholding in HealthZone, having a full time practice manager there means he has now turned his focus full time to sports management.
In truth it has been a few years since David Abercrombie has spent most of his time at HealthZone. America’s Cup yachting has played a big part in his life over the past 15 years. He first joined Team New Zealand as physiotherapist in 1995 in San Diego for the America’s Cup and subsequent Cups through to 2004. This yachting association continued with a slightly more international flavour, with joining BMW Oracle Racing at the end of 2007 when Chris Dickson was CEO. In 2010 he returned from spending 18 months in Spain and the USA with his family, where he was involved with the build-up to the 33rd America’s Cup.
“We had a great time in Valencia, the family loved it,” says David. “The kids came over and enjoyed their time at school in Spain. It was a great experience for them. We did lots of travelling. When the America’s Cup moved, I spent four months in San Diego and then we decided it was time to come home.”
So how did the role with Yachting New Zealand come about?
“I was looking to stay involved in some way in high performance sport, so when the CEO’s role at YNZ came across my email, I jumped at it,” explained Dave Abercrombie. “And I love it. It’s very different to what I have been involved in before, but is very interesting as it covers many aspects of the sport. I get a lot of support, which has made things more palatable, as there are a few areas I am not so strong in. The good thing is SPARC have excellent specialist personnel who can assist in areas where we need help. There are some great people in yachting which also makes it easier.”
“We are working hard at getting good structures in place and I think I am now getting a real feel for the role. A great deal of work is being put into all areas, including high performance, talent identification etc. More than 50% of my time is spent working at the club level, which is actually an area I really enjoy and is at the heart of the sport. There is a big responsibility to grow club memberships and to assist with learn-to-sail programmes that help to bring new people to the sport.”
Assisting David Abercrombie is a team of four regional support officers around the country – in Auckland (covering the northern region), New Plymouth (covering central region), Christchurch and Dunedin. These officers provide support for the clubs, help with race management and assist with the delivery of learn-to-sail programmes. Yachting New Zealand has a total staff of around 20.
“The perception often is that Yachting New Zealand is all about high performance, but this is not the case,” adds Dave Abercrombie. “This is something that I am keen to change. The most important area is the club scene. The grass roots. If we get that right, then that will have a positive bearing at the high performance level. It really is all about building fleets and membership at the clubs.”
“We are thrilled that we are having some success with the clubs. It is important that we get them working together and they are doing that. We don’t want them all building the same fleets. An example was a club that had 2-3 Starlings sailing, which wasn’t enough. With the assistance of Yachting New Zealand, that club has been able to grow that fleet to 12-14 boats, which makes for much better racing.”
“The moral fabric of yachting is very special, with a real family focus. The clubs that are strong are the clubs where the parents get as involved as the kids. The strength of our clubs is based around the people that run them and this is most often the parents. We need to encourage more parents to get involved. Their involvement is not only great for yachting but also great for their kids.
“The schools play an important part as well. Locally, yachting is very strong in the schools - particularly at Westlake Boys, Takapuna Grammar and also Rangitoto. We can’t forget that many of our top sailors have come from the North Shore – Barker, Dickson, Ashley etc.”
There is a busy period ahead for David Abercrombie and his Yachting New Zealand team. The World Championships for all classes (RSX, Women’s Laser Radial, 470, 49’er, Men’s Laser, Finn, Star, Women’s Match Racing) is held in Perth in December. The World Optimist Championships (over 300 boats) is being held at Napier in January. This massive event – one of New Zealand’s biggest ever dinghy regattas – is being organised by a group that includes people from the local Murrays Bay club. Sail Auckland is on in early February at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club and the Volvo Round-the-World fleet stops over here around mid-February. A feature of the Volvo event is a fleet of smaller boats that are being shipped to each stopover port and are being used for learn-to-sail events promoting sailing. The winners of the regatta at each stopover port are invited to race at a championship finale at the final port of the race in Cork, Ireland.
David Abercrombie is looking forward to Yachting New Zealand moving, as planned, to their new base as part of the National Ocean Water Sports Centre. This is going to be built to the south of the Takapuna Boating Club, just off Takapuna Beach. He is playing an important role in the planning and development of this new facility in conjunction with the Harbour Access Trust, the organisation created to steer its development.
“We are excited about the new facility as it will provide a great home for Yachting New Zealand and be a real asset to the Takapuna community. All going well, we are hoping to be in there by late next year or early 2013.”
So given the fact that you have been involved in both rugby and yachting at fairly high levels, how do the two sports compare?
“I have been involved in each slightly differently, but rugby has a better junior infrastructure and overall it has better funding. A numbers game probably. Financially, only a very few make a good living in yachting, whereas professional rugby now provides good incomes for most of our top-level rugby players and coaches. There is a perception that yachting is an elitist sport, but that’s far from the truth. Yachting people are just as down to earth as rugby people. Our leading yachtsmen also work very hard, and most people don’t understand how physically and logistically demanding it is now to be an America’s Cup sailor. It is comparable with the All Blacks but the environment is not a pampered one.
Any thoughts on how we can turn Harbour rugby around?
“It is a bit sad that the two unions in the Auckland province are near the bottom of our National rugby competitions. Harbour Rugby needs to work hard on building respect and connecting with the community. The Breakers have been very good at that. Under Liam Barry, I think it is starting to change, but they need to work harder at it. People need to want to be a part of it. The good work done at the North Shore Rugby Club is an example of what can be done.”
Are the All Blacks going to win the Rugby World Cup?
“We have to hope so. We’ve got the home advantage and the All Blacks have certainly been the best team in the world over the past 12 months. Let’s hope the three wise men can put it together – we have to back them. It has been great to see the emergence of some of the smaller nations in the early stages of the Rugby World Cup.”
Doing what I love doing
