JOHN Derbyshire OBE, is set to retire after 32 years’ service to RYA Racing.

Derbyshire worked as a coach, Olympic manager and most recently, Director of Racing.

Most notably, he was personal coach to Sir Ben Ainslie between 1994 and 2000, including at Sydney where Ainslie won the first of his four Olympic gold medals.

He is set to remain in role until September 1 this year.

With the news of Olympic Manager, Stephen Park OBE also moving on in the spring, the RYA is seeking two outstanding candidates to lead the development of racing in the UK, the World Class Programme and the British Sailing Team for the Tokyo 2020 cycle and beyond.

Following a staffing review, the RYA will look to recruit its new Director of Racing as a first priority to enable a suitable handover period, and to allow the successful candidate to be involved with the recruitment of an Olympic Manager to succeed Park.

Speaking of his decision, Derbyshire said: “It had always been my intention to retire in the early part of this cycle, and with a new Olympic Manager to recruit as well it makes logical sense for my successor to be involved in that process to ensure the best possible handover.

“I feel hugely proud of what has been achieved during my time with the RYA.  The sport has evolved enormously during that period and it’s been a privilege to have led a programme which has helped develop the talents of countless sailors at many levels and in so many facets of the sport, and which has been so dominant on the world stage for so many years.

“The RYA’s World Class Programme is in great shape, with a wealth of talented sailors, coaches and support staff and a favourable funding award from UK Sport to underpin our performance strategy for Tokyo 2020 and beyond.”

RYA CEO Sarah Treseder added: “John’s contribution both to British sailors’ medal fortunes and to the standard of UK racing both domestically and internationally cannot be understated, and his experience and insight will be greatly missed.”

Role descriptions and application details for both the Director of Racing and Olympic Performance Manager roles are available on the RYA website. 

Requests for initial confidential conversations in connection with these posts should be sent to Dawn Brown: dawnbrown@positivedynamics.co.uk