The North Shore is blessed with several international-standard sports facilities that are also able to be used by the community. One of these is AUT Millennium, proudly a centre for athletic and water sports, training, research, wellbeing and community, a unique environment that provides a hub for high performance as well as the public. Christine Young talks to CEO Mike Stanley, to explore its history, the range of activities it hosts, and milestones it has marked this year.
Mike Stanley joined AUT Millennium in 2003, soon after its opening. He was previously a teacher at Westlake Boys High School and Long Bay College, and a New Zealand rowing representative from 1976-84, followed by a business and governance career, which included becoming chief executive of Rowing New Zealand from 1994–2003. He has held governance roles with the New Zealand Olympic Committee (as president for 14 years and now honorary president), and is a former board member of High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) and the New Zealand Academy of Sport North Island. He is currently chair of New Zealand Olympic Foundation, the Kauri Rescue Trust and the Upper Waitemata Marine Recreation Centre Trust, and is a trustee on the AUT Millennium Trust.
Mike has led AUT Millennium through a period of growth and redevlopment and says he is “honoured to work with Sir Graeme Avery and Sir Stephen Tindall to create a sustainable and long term community asset to support community and high performance sport and help our community be the best they can be through the provision of facilities, services, research and education”.
“This year,” he says, “it has been fantastic to have support from Auckland Council and other funders to get the $2m Aquatic Legacy project underway, which will future-proof our aquatics facilities which are amongst the most extensive in New Zealand. ”
The facility first opened in 2002 as the Millennium Institute of Sport & Health, and from the start aimed to “enhance New Zealand's high-performance sports training and community health”. Nearly 25 years later, its five foundation organisations – North Harbour Water Polo, North Shore Swimming, North Harbour Bays Athletics, North Sport Weighlifting, and Rangitoto College – continue to work at and with AUT Millenium, engaging thousands of young people in a variety of sporting activities, at all levels. In 2009, it partnered with AUT University to enable world-leading research in sport and human performance, and rebranded as AUT Millennium.
In 2012, the centre marked its tenth anniversary with a $29 million upgrade, including new facilities, and became AUT’s fourth campus. It was already a training centre for many New Zealand athletes training for the 2012 London Olympics; the upgrade doubled the floor area, and included an expanded sports medicine centre, HPSNZ headquarters and AUT’s Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand laboratory. Just over a year later, The Sir Owen G. Glenn National Aquatic Centre opened to house swimming facilities for elite athletes and the public.
In January this year, the first stage of a series of critical infrastructure upgrades (the Aquatic Legacy project) was completed: the Sir Owen G. Glenn National Aquatic Centre 50 metre pool was re-opened after being closed for four months for re-grouting. This milestone was marked by a formal reopening event, attended by Sir Owen Glenn and Sir Stephen Tindall, both of whom have backed the project.
The Aquatic Legacy Project, explains Mike, is a major 10-year asset renewal project, “which will provide much need refurbishment works to three of our four heavily utilised swimming pools”. It is designed to protect the long-term integrity of the pools and ensure they can continue to operate reliably for another decade. Future stages include further upgrades, the installation of LED lighting, the conversion of pool heating systems to electricity from gas, and upgrades to seating areas for families to improve access to view swimming lessons. “Our team has been busy on initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint through preparing for the installation of solar electricity generation and more efficient lighting and air conditioning chillers.”
In mid-January, work commenced on the AUT Millennium Learn-to-Swim pool as part of Stage 2, to enhance the experience of young swimmers. Later this year, the original AUT Millennium 50m pool will receive a major makeover. In addition, says Mike, “we will be upgrading our lodge accommodation for visiting sport and school groups and establishing a youth focused movement and gym space.”
For while AUT Millenium is an invaluable asset to high performance athletes, it is also very much a community asset. “Over the past decade,” he says, “we’ve welcomed a diverse mix of people through our doors – from children taking part in learn-to-swim lessons, school students attending water safety classes, members attending swim sessions and aquatic classes, to athletes and supporters travelling from across Aotearoa taking part in local and national events.”
The aquatic facilities, despite their high profile, are only part of what is on offer at AUT Millenium. “Every day we welcome new people through our doors,” says Mike, “as well as those who have been part of our community for many years.” AUT Millenium is open to members of the public at the gym, to whānau bringing their tamariki to learn to swim at the 2000-strong swim school, and to young athletes enhancing their training in athlete development sessions. Since January this year more than 1300 students have taken part in AUT Millennium’s water safety or education outside the classroom programmes. The centre also hosts schools for swimming sports and athletics days, and in term one alone hosted 18 schools.
During school holidays, the swim school team runs holiday intensives and skills clinics. “These programmes are popular with families who are unable to attend lessons during the term,” says Mike, “as well as with current swim school members looking to accelerate their progress.”
One of AUT Millennium’s flagship community programmes, Deep Water Running, has built a reputation, he adds, “for leading the way in delivering serious results without the impact of land-based training. The programme has evolved with the introduction of Hydro-X, a new class designed to push cardiovascular fitness, strength and endurance in a dynamic deep-water environment. We were thrilled to launch Hydro-X as part of the reopening of the National Aquatic Centre. The class is now a regular feature of the Deep Water Running timetable and has had an overwhelmingly positive response. In the first month alone, the Hydro-X classes were fully booked, with 120 attendees across four classes.”
But wait, there’s more. Two reformers were introduced to the gym in November last year and if usage and bookings are anything to go by, they’ve been much appreciated by gym members incorporating them into their workouts.
The Athlete Development team has built strong connections with Auckland FC. In January, they supported the team during part of the Oceania Football Confederation Pro League, and in February hosted both men’s and women’s development squads for testing. “More than 50 athletes completed a range of fitness and agility assessments, with detailed reporting provided to the club’s strength and conditioning coaches. This partnership will continue throughout the year, helping to track athlete development and performance,” says Mike.
In March, Athletics New Zealand welcomed teams from across Polynesia to Auckland (and AUT Millennium) with a traditional pōwhiri for the 2026 Polynesian Champions Development Camp. Over three days, 140 athletes took part in workshops in preparation for the Polynesian Track and Field Championships. “We were proud to host this event across our conference rooms and track and field stadium, and it was inspiring to see athletes building connections and developing their skills during their time here,” says Mike.
“It has been great to see the growth of our foundation sport clubs and the benefits to the community of AUT Millennium's community programmes,” he says. It seems that the growth and benefits to high performance athletes and the community will continue to grow as the centre’s development programme continues apace.
