Southgate retires after long, successful coaching career

Will Johnston

It would be hard pressed to find a replacement for Sue Southgate.

After coaching hundreds of Taranaki swimmers and spending countless hours poolside, Southgate, 68, has called it quits.  

Her retirement on Friday brings down the curtain on a 23-year coaching career in Taranaki, which has seen her coach children to Olympic athletes.

“You know it’s time to let somebody else have a go,” she said.

“It’s dawned on me over the last six to eight months. I have grandchildren in Australia and because of Covid I was unable to see them for nearly two years, that’s been part of it.”

Born in Australia and raised in Melbourne, Southgate moved to New Zealand over 45 years ago and started coaching at the Aquabladz club based at the Methanex Bell Block Aquatic Centre in 1999.

While she has seen many swimmers come and go, she’s coached Charlotte Webby, Dylan Dunlop-Barrett and more recently Zac Reid successfully.

Webby was the 2017 open water champion, while Dunlop-Barrett and Reid attended the London and Tokyo Olympic Games respectively. She coached Dunlop-Barrett until 2010 and her retirement ends a decade-long coaching stint with Reid.

She’s proud of what her swimmers have achieved.

“We proved we could produce that level of swimmer out of a smaller province. I think we have an advantage here. Sport is an important outlet here; you probably get more kids involved in sport. You get a better quality of athlete on average per population.”

When Southgate started, her main goal was to get swimmers at the national age group championships each year because Taranaki didn’t have a large field. Once those goals were achieved, she reassessed and aimed for more.

In 2017, Southgate was the only coach in the country to have a swimmer in all four national teams competing overseas.

Her contribution was recognised after becoming coach of the year six times at the Taranaki Sports Awards in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019 and 2020/21, the most by any individual since the awards format started in 1997.

She was Swimming New Zealand’s coach of the year in 2015. It was the first time a Taranaki coach received the award.  

Her success led her to becoming a nominee for last year’s Taranaki Daily News person of the year award.

On top of the awards, Southgate said the most important achievement is growing the athlete as people.

“We’ve had a bunch of kids go onto higher education and now very good jobs and turning into great citizens, that’s probably the biggest plus.”

Reid said Southgate was an excellent coach and “one of the best Swimming New Zealand has ever seen.”

“I wouldn’t be the athlete or person I am today without her, and I am grateful I got to share my Olympic journey alongside her.”

For her retirement, Southgate will travel with her partner, Donna, fish and “do the normal retirement things people do.”