The Australian Sailing Awards are quickly approaching, and Australian Sailing Team (AST) athletes and coaches have dominated the list of finalists for Male Sailor of the Year, Female Sailor of the Year and Coach of the Year categories. 

In a year that has prevented many sailors from attending regattas, it was our Olympic sailing stars who continued to sine in this year’s nominations. The Female Sailor of the Year finalists include Nacra 17 Crew Lisa Darmanin up against Olympic debutants Mara Stransky (Laser Radial) and Tess Lloyd and Jaime Ryan (49erFX). 

The Male Sailor of the Year is always hotly contested, but it goes to the next level when the three finalists include two Olympic Gold Medallists and on America’s Cup winner with eight previous category wins between them.

Emirates Team New Zealand Wing Trimmer Glenn Ashby won the Award in 2017 for his role in winning the Cup that year, and he finds himself as a finalist again this year. Ashby will face stiff competition from our two Olympic champions in Matt Wearn (Laser) and the team of Mat Belcher and Will Ryan (Men’s 470). Both nominees secured Gold in dominant fashion, securing their respective wins before the medal race.

The AST Athletes couldn’t be credited for their accomplishments without recognising the coaches that were crucial to their success on the water. The Coach of the Year category is also littered with AST coaches. The lineup includes 2015 winner Tristan Brown, who coached Mara Stransky to her Olympic debut in the Laser Radial class which featured a race win in the final fleet race. 

Brown will be up against some coaching giants. Victor Kovalenko and Iain Murray have been shortlisted as a combined finalist for leading Mat Belcher and Will Ryan’s successful campaign to Tokyo in the Men’s 470. Laser supercoach Michael Blackburn is aiming for his fifth straight win in this category after another successful year on the water. Blackburn coached Matt Wearn to the top of the podium to claim Australia’s third consecutive Olympic Gold Medal in the Laser Class. 

The Australian Sailing Awards are set to celebrate the past year’s successes virtually on Thursday 25th November at 7PM AEDT. Tune in via Australian Sailing’s Facebook page – link here. 

You can see a full list of the Finalists here.