Congratulations to the overall winners of the Australian Sailing WA Awards for 2021! The winners of the state awards will be put forward as nominees for the national Australian Sailing Awards. 

Performance Awards

Female Sailor of the Year

Winner: Nia Jerwood & Monique De Vries nominated by Fremantle Sailing Club

Nia and Monique represented Australia in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Throughout the competition the team had results in the top ten and outstanding upwind speed, showing consistency over a range of challenging weather conditions.

Male Sailor of the Year

Winner: Matthew Wearn nominated by Fremantle Sailing Club & Royal Perth Yacht Club

Matthew gave an outstanding performance winning Gold with a race to spare at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the Men’s Laser Class. Matthew showed strong resilience, fighting back to finish inside the top four in six races after facing a challenging start.

Offshore Sailor of the Year

Winner: Simon Torvaldsen nominated by Royal Perth Yacht Club

Simon’s yacht, Atomic Blonde, podiumed in seven of the twelve offshore races this season claiming the Siska Trophy.

Para Sailor of the Year

Winner: Genevieve Wickham nominated by Royal Perth Yacht Club 

Genevieve has been an outstanding ambassador for Royal Perth Yacht Club for more than ten years. Most recently, winning the 2021 WA Para Sailing Championships.

Youth Sailor of the Year

Winner: Harry Joyner nominated by Western Australian Institute of Sport

WAIS scholarship holder, Harry is a dedicated, fun-loving sailor. With great results and training effort, he was selected for the Australian Sailing Futures Squad.

Coach of the Year

Winner: Tristan Brown nominated by Western Australian Laser Association 

Tristan coached the Australian Sailing Team and Australian Sailing Squad Laser Radial athletes across the performance period, which peaked with Mara Stransky's performance in the class at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Motor Yacht Person of the Year

Winner: Garry Morrison nominated by Cruising and Power Yacht Committee 

Garry has provided considerable service to the power yacht time trailing community over many years.

Club Awards

Club of the Year

Winner: Koombana Bay Sailing Club

Koombana Bay Sailing Club has provided inclusive opportunities, expanded junior sailing programs, and increased membership by 114%.

Instructor of the Year

Winner: Andrew Briggs nominated by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club

Andrew thinks outside the box to teach sailing skills in a fun and engaging way. He creates challenges and games for the sailors epitomising the essence of the Tackers and school sailing programs – fun, making friends, challenge, and learning sailing skills.

Official of the Year

Winner: John McKechnie nominated by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club

John welcomes new people to volunteering with enthusiasm and has played an active role in both training and mentoring Club and State Race Officers for both Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and Nedlands Yacht Clubs, the two clubs he calls home.

Volunteer of the Year

Winner: Dana Queisser nominated by Sun City Yacht Club

Dana has been an outstanding contributor to Sun City Yacht Club for 10 years. She has guided us through some challenging times that could have easily seen our community-minded, family-friendly club dissolve.

Sport Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Peter Chappell nominated by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht

Peter has sat on numerous Committees at Club and State level for many years culminating in thousands of hours of strategy, discussion and decision making. Whilst we acknowledge Peter’s achievements in sailing, we also recognise, the huge amount he has given back to the sport.

SheSails Award

Winner: Swan River Sailing

Swan River Sailing promotes sailing in all its forms. It has conducted several activities that encourage female participation and inclusion.

Sport Professional Award

Winner: Adele Jackson nominated by Hillarys Yacht Club

Adele’s professionalism and dedication has led to Hillarys Yacht Club being recognised nationally as the largest Discover Sailing Centre. Adele’s innovation and creative thinking has led to a significant increase in participation.  

Sport Promotion Award

Winner: Fremantle Sailing Club

The Fremantle to Exmouth Yacht Race and Rally (700nm) encouraged participation of sailors of all abilities. The Race and Rally provided the perfect opportunity to share in their love of sailing with the Fremantle & Exmouth communities.

Sustainability Award

Winner: Swan River Sailing

Swan River Sailing, through its activities, actively promotes healthy and sustainable community-focused practices.