Rowing NZ have had to undergo a cultural reset after a string of departures from the sport

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Grace Prendergast (L), who won women’s doubles gold with Kerri Gowler at the Tokyo Olympics, is among several high-profile female rowers to announce their retirements in the past 12 months.

Rowing NZ is experiencing a cultural reboot as New Zealand’s best-funded Olympic sport bounces back from a string of athlete resignations and the departure of several senior executives over the past year.

Departures also include CEO Geoff Barry, who resigned after just 18 months in office. It is understood David Meates, the former head of the Canterbury Health Board, will step in as interim chief executive of Rowing NZ while the organization recruits a more permanent replacement.

The upheaval follows a difficult period of transition for Rowing NZ, which has been forced to reconsider its high-performance paths and approach to athlete welfare.

Barry, who will leave the organization this month, said that while high turnover in staff and athletes is to be expected at the end of the Olympic cycle, some of the attrition was due to the unique challenges of the past 18 months.

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He added that the findings of a Cycling NZ investigation into the death of Rio Olympian Olivia Podmore had lessons for the broader high-performance system, while the move by a group of elite rowers and cyclists to launch a working case against High Performance Sport NZ also forces a rethinking of the dynamic between athletes and national sports organizations.

“There is definitely an increasing expectation of performance for Rowing NZ as an organization and a stronger expression of that expectation. Speaking of the water temp being pretty warm at the moment, The Athlete Cooperative makes for a lot of interesting conversations and obviously the tragedy of Olivia Podmore’s death has created a more introspective environment,” Barry said.

“Definitely the board is quite aware of the high turnover and looks at it individually, but ultimately it becomes a conversation about developing a culture based on the future and not what we have today.”

Naomi Baker/Getty Images

A newly formed athletes’ union led by Olympic rowing great Mahe Drysdale has launched an employment case against High Performance Sport NZ.

Rowing NZ chairwoman Jane Davel confirmed the board has investigated the broader reasons for resignations, which include coaches and high-performing staff, but said there will be no formal review or scrutiny.

“We worked together to develop a new strategy with articulated values. This included working with staff and athletes. In the new year there will be lightened work to discuss the values ​​more fully – what they mean and how good they look, and the behaviors we exemplify and hold each other accountable for,” Davel said in a statement.

The board had hoped Barry “would be part of the organization longer” but understood his reasons for stepping down, Davel added.

Barry, who previously ran Sport NZ’s sports and leisure division, admits the rudder roll wasn’t what he expected. He said that like most national sports organisations, Rowing NZ was significantly underfunded and his work-life balance was suffering.

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“I think it was probably the self-awareness that with the job as big as it is, there are parts of the job that I’m just not good at, and I think some of those things are critical to success of rowing in the future. Some of my weaknesses are becoming a problem for the sport,” Barry said.

“The balance of time spent on commercial, marketing and revenue generation projects, which is important but not something I really enjoy, hampered my ability to focus on the things that really matter, like creating a great work environment and creating a great environment for our rowers to thrive.”

His departure comes at a time when there are significant concerns about the health of rowing’s high-performance trails following the closure of regional performance centers (RPCs) last year.

Operating for 20 years, the RPCs provided a centralized training facility at the level below the national program at Lake Karapiro. However, as the national program grew to accommodate more numbers and young athletes increasingly began to pursue opportunities in the US college system, Barry said it became clear that the RPCs were obsolete.

“If you follow them as a company, they peaked at a certain point and really didn’t serve a purpose after that.

“So we are in a transition phase. Time will tell – the big question is, do we have the rowing talent? We are definitely suffering because some of our Rangatahi have not been in contact with U19 and U23 events for a number of years. I think a lot of sports may find that some of the trails aren’t as solid as they used to be.

delivered

Rowing New Zealand CEO Geoff Barry has resigned after 18 months in office.

“We’re hoping to address that and certainly we’ve had some really promising results at recent youth events.”

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