Yachting Australia President Andrew Plympton steps down

by Craig Heydon on 18 Mar 2011 President of Yachting Australia, Andrew Plympton last week stood down following a seven year stint at the helm. During that time the organisation flourished under his leadership.

'On behalf of Yachting Australia, and the entire Australian sailing community, I’d like to thank Andrew for his dedication and outstanding efforts as President for the past seven years,' said Yachting Australia CEO Phil Jones.

'Through Andrew’s leadership and commitment we have seen Yachting Australia continue to grow in all areas. Much of this growth can be directly attributed to his influence,' he said. 'I’d also like to take the opportunity to welcome David Gotze to the position of President and I look forward to working closely with him in the coming years.'

Plympton chaired his final board meeting in Sydney with Yachting Australia board member David Gotze replacing him as President.

Plympton came to the role immediately following the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and had an unashamed focus on success in high performance sailing. He set about commissioning a new plan that recognised Australia’s potential and set out the factors for success, resulting in the establishment of the Australian Sailing Team. Yachting Australia is a very different organisation today due to the Presidency of Andrew Plympton.

Sailing is not the only sport in that has benefitted from the involvement of Andrew Plympton. He was President of St Kilda Football Club for eight years and still has a strong interest in the code.

Plympton will continue to be involved in sport at the highest level after he steps down as President. In 2009 he was elected to the Executive Board of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and in January this year was appointed to the Board of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), the federal government body responsible for leading and supporting sport in this country. He is the only individual currently serving as a Board member for both organisations.

'I have always had a passion for sailing and have enjoyed being able to be involved in the sport in Australia as President of Yachting Australia for the past seven years,' said Plympton. 'I believe that the sport is now in a stronger position than ever before and I look forward to being involved for many more years to come.'

With the departure of Andrew Plympton, Yachting Australia welcomes a new President, Melbourne based David Gotze.

Gotze also brings to the position a lifelong passion for sailing, having been involved in a number of areas of the sport for many years, including being a board member of Yachting Australia since 2008. Gotze is the founder and Group Managing Director of management and technology consulting firm Indec Consulting.

'I look forward to the challenges which lay ahead for Yachting Australia as the sport continues to undergo numerous changes at an accelerated rate,' said Gotze. 'As President I’ll bring to the role my personal experience and expertise which I believe I can use to help the organisation grow and thrive in the years to come.'

'I particularly look forward to working closely with the Yachting Australia Board of Directors and staff as we work hard for the betterment of the sailing in Australia,' he said.

Before taking on the role of Yachting Australia President, David Gotze was Commodore of Royal Brighton Yacht Club from 1999 to 2003, a member of the Executive of Yachting Victoria from 2003 to 2008 and Vice President from 2004 to 2006. Gotze was then President of Yachting Victoria from 2007 until 2008.

On the water Gotze has had success in a number of classes, as well as in some of the sport’s highest profile events, the Melbourne to Hobart and the Rolex Sydney to Hobart. He also owned the Volvo 60, Indec Merit, and more recently campaigned Enigma in the 2011 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship.

www.yachting.org.au