World Sailing Awards 2024 set to honour the sport’s very best

• Rolex World Sailor of the Year award to be presented to sailing’s highest achievers.
• Debut of the Young World Sailor of the Year award
• Boat of the Year Award renamed to World Sailing Technology Award to reflect high performance and technical innovation in the sport.
• Team of the Year to reward successful crews of two or more.
• Beppe Croce Trophy and President’s Development Award to honour outstanding individual contributions to the sport of sailing.

In an Olympic year, the stars of sailing are expected to shine brightly and alongside the Rolex World Sailor of the Year, the highest award a sailor can receive in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the sport of sailing, World Sailing will present several awards to honour success in every aspect of the sport.

Many of the sport’s most accomplished men and women have held aloft the Rolex World Sailor of the Year trophy and received a customised Rolex timepiece to commemorate their achievement.

Last year, Tom Slingsby won the men’s award for the third time after guiding his Team Australia to another SailGP victory and his work aboard American Magic, which he will hope to build on at the America’s Cup later this year. The women’s award was won by Kirsten Neuschäfer from South Africa who became the first woman to finish first in the solo Golden Globe Race, a journey around the world reliant on no modern technology.

New this year is the Young World Sailor of the Year Award which recognises the success of sailors under the age of 21, and Boat of the Year which has been renamed to the World Sailing Technology Award and the criteria extended to cover performance and innovation within the wider technical aspects of sailing.

David Graham, World Sailing CEO, said, “The World Sailing Awards recognise and honour excellence in the sport of sailing. With this being an Olympic year, and following the Youth Sailing World Championships, we expect there to be incredible achievements on show as well as inspiring stories of triumph and courage. The addition of Young World Sailor of the Year and expansion of Boat of the Year is important as we widen the scope of the awards to celebrate those who will become major stars of the future and the technological innovation that drives our sport forward. This year’s World Sailing Awards will showcase the diversity of the sport like never before and we all look forward to receiving nominations that reflect the full range of talent within sailing.”

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, and Team of the Year in recognition of teams who personify integrity, ambition, resilience and resourcefulness.

The Magenta Project won last year’s World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award for its success in delivering a mentoring programme that has supported 150 women in sailing to excel in their chosen field.

The 11th Hour Racing Team, skippered by Rolex World Sailor of the Year nominee Charlie Enright, won Team of the Year after triumphing at The Ocean Race 2022-23 and demonstrating all of the qualities needed to succeed in one of the sport’s most demanding events.

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

Nominations for the Rolex World Sailor of the Year and Young World Sailor of the Year are open now and will remain open until 30 September.

Nominate your choices now using the World Sailing Awards entry forms.

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.

The World Sailing Annual Conference is organised and supported by the Official Host Venue Partner, the Singapore Tourism Board.

About 11th Hour Racing

11th Hour Racing works to mobilize sports, maritime, and coastal communities with an innovative approach to inspire solutions for the ocean. 11th Hour Racing promotes collaborative, systemic change through three primary areas of engagement: sponsorships, grantees, and ambassadors. Under the 11th Hour Racing umbrella, activities are provided through 11th Hour Racing, Inc., which serves as the impact entity and provides programmatic direction to its philanthropic partners, including 11th Hour Racing Charitable, LLC, which engages in charitable work, and 11th Hour Racing Action, LLC, which engages in social welfare programs and advocacy. Learn more at www.11thhourracing.org.