Issue date
There is still time to get your nominations in for this year’s Aon Yachting Excellence Awards - a chance to honour the cream of the country’s sailing talent.
Former ILCA 7 (Laser) world champion Tom Saunders won last year’s top award – the Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy for the Orbit World Travel Sailor of the Year - after becoming only the second Kiwi in history and the first since 1974 to claim the world title in what is widely regarded as the most competitive Olympic sailing class.
Previous winners of the award include Sir Peter Blake, Barbara Kendall, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, Sir Russell Coutts, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, Bruce Farr, and Emirates Team New Zealand.
Saunders was also crowned as the Aon Male Sailor of the Year and was a recipient of a Yachting New Zealand Performance Award.
Tom Saunders won the Bernard Fergusson Trophy at the 2022 Aon Excellence Awards. Photo / Sailing Energy
For a full list of winners from the 2022 Aon Excellence Awards, click here.
The awards evening is a highlight on the annual sailing calendar and recognises achievements at all levels of the sport during the nomination period (September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2023) and will include a brand new award for the Emerging Coach of the Year.
This year’s event will be presented at a gala dinner at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on November 24, 2023, with tickets going on sale in September.
"New Zealand sailors have continued to set the pace in the sport, achieving some remarkable results domestically while also keeping pace with the best international fleets," said Yachting New Zealand chief executive David Abercrombie.
“While this is important as we count down to next year's Paris Olympic Games, the Aon Excellence Awards is about more than just high-performance sailing. It is also an opportunity to honour the often-unsung heroes of our community, those people making a difference every day at their clubs and class associations, through our service awards.
“We are looking forward to celebrating our many successes both on and off the water in what has been a challenging period."
As always, we need your help in deciding who deserves to be recognised. Please take a minute to complete a nomination by clicking here.
The following award categories are recognised:
- Orbit World Travel Sailor of the Year Award for the Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy
- Aon Male Sailor of the Year Award
- Aon Female Sailor of the Year Award
- NZL Sailing Foundation Young Male Sailor of the Year Award
- NZL Sailing Foundation Young Female Sailor of the Year Award
- Yachting New Zealand Performance Coach of the Year
- Yachting New Zealand Emerging Coach of the Year
- Millennium Hotels & Resorts New Zealand Official of the Year
- Aon Emerging Talent Award
- Lawson's Dry Hills President's Award
- Young Leadership Award
- North Sails Sportsmanship Award
- Evocean Sustainability Award
- Yachting New Zealand Service Awards
- Radix Performance Awards
- Yachting New Zealand Youth Performance Awards
- Kiwi Yachting Cruising Awards
Nominations close on September 1, 2023.
The criteria for each award can be found by clicking on the link below.
For a list of all previous award recipients, take a look at our Roll of Honour.
For more information or assistance, please contact Angela Jordan at angela@yachtingnz.org.nz.
