World Sailing Awards 2022 set to honour the highest achievers in sailing

The 90-minute ceremony, hosted by Alec Wilkinson and Shirley Robertson OBE, will be broadcast live on the World Sailing YouTube channel from the W Hotel – Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Headlining the awards ceremony will be the Rolex World Sailor of the Year where a male and female winner, decided by a panel of experts and a public vote, will be announced.

Also being presented will be the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award which celebrates the delivery of high-impact, highly-replicable sustainability initiatives, aligned to World Sailing’s Sustainability Agenda 2030.

Thousands of votes have already been registered for both awards and online voting will remain open until 0200 UTC on Tuesday 25 October.

The World Sailing Awards 2022 will also name a Team of the Year in recognition of the personification of integrity, ambition, resilience and resourcefulness, and Boat of the Year in recognition of outstanding boat design, innovative concepts and ground-breaking technological advancements that are changing the face of sailing, pioneering change across the world.

In addition, the Beppe Croce Trophy will be awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing, and the President’s Development Award will be presented to an individual or organisation in honour of their contribution to the growth and development of sailing, either nationally or internationally.

Rolex World Sailor of the Year

Nine athletes have been nominated for the Rolex World Sailor of the Year 2022 – including world champions, Olympic medallists and world record holders.

The winners will have their name engraved on the iconic marble and silver trophy depicting the globe, crowned with five silver spinnakers representing the continents, as well as a souvenir they will keep close to them forever.

The 2022 Rolex World Sailor of the Year finalists are:

Female category

• Hélène Noesmoen(FRA)
• Odile van Aanholt& Annette Duetz (NED)
• Caterina Marianna Banti(ITA)

Male category

• Ruggero Tita(ITA)
• Jean-Baptiste Bernaz(FRA)
• Nicolas Goyard(FRA)
• Bart Lambriex& Floris van der Werken (NED)

More details about the nominees and their achievements can be found here.

World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award 2022

Four exceptional initiatives have been shortlisted for the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award 2022, representing projects that have the potential to transform the maritime industry and have a positive impact on the environment.

The 2022 nominees are:

• The Flipflopi Project
• Fundación Ecomar
• EurILCA Sustainability Program
• Greenboats 

More details about the nominees and their initiatives can be found here.

About the World Sailing Awards

World Sailing launched the World Sailor of the Year Awards in 1994 to reward individual sailors for outstanding achievements in the sport. Rolex has been sponsors of the award since 2001, celebrating more than two decades of excellence and achievement in sailing.

World Sailing and 11th Hour Racing joined forces in 2018 to celebrate the delivery of high impact and replicable sustainability within the maritime industry aligned to World Sailing’s Sustainability Agenda 2030. The winner will receive a 10,000 USD prize to fund their continued sustainability efforts and the iconic trophy made from recycled carbon fibre from an America’s Cup boat infused with bio resin.