Three top-performing clubs from around the country have been announced as finalists for the coveted Club of the Year – Category A Award at this year’s Australian Sailing Awards. 

This year saw the introduction of the Club of the Year – Category B Award, which is intended to give smaller clubs the opportunity to be recognised for their work growing the sport in their local communities. 

This left the Category A clubs to contest one of the blue ribband awards at this year’s awards, with the split based on their Australian Sailing Club Affiliation banding.

The Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia powered its way to the Club of the Year – Category A Award in the Festival State after a year of growth on and off the water. 

With a strong focus on strong programs, member engagement initiatives and good governance, the club saw a 4.8% growth in racing membership and 5.5% growth in senior membership. This was in part driven by the club’s decision to purchase six Elliott 7's and accompanying Highfield Rib to facilitate growth and training of youth sailors. 

The club drove community engagement through partnerships with Adelaide University Sailing Club, SA Scouts, Ocean View College, as well as with “off-the-beach" sailing clubs including Adelaide Sailing Club. The creation of a Club Partnership Affiliate membership category also allowed those new to sailing to have the same rights and privileges as sailing members without initial entry level fees. 

The Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia

Queensland’s Keppel Bay Sailing Club grew their membership by 24% through an increased focus on their juniors and learn to sail programs. That growth included a 71% growth in junior membership and 17% growth in Tackers participation.  

Throughout the year they hosted the highly successful Open Season Regatta, Youth Sail QLD, KBSC May Day Regatta, the RTM 2023 KBSC She Sails Regatta and Green Fleet Friendly Regattas. The Youth Sail event had 402 registrations and 220 boats, making it the biggest Youth Sail event in Australia. 

Keppel Bay provides financial support and encouragement to members, staff and volunteers to achieve Australian Sailing qualifications and attend relevant external training to grow their skills and abilities. This has led to a healthy increase in participation across a range of club-related positions and activities. 

Keppel Bay Sailing Club

Woollahra Sailing Club (WSC) drove a 7% increase in the membership across the 2022-23 season thanks to a collective effort from staff, volunteers and members to engage the local community with their sailing programs. 

The club decided to pursue an investment in their Sailing School which provided 9 Discover Sailing Courses for 964 participants, which resulted in WSC ranking first nationally for Tackers and OutThere Sailing, second for Dinghy and fourth for Powerboating and Windsurfing participant numbers. 

They also had a focus on engaging new schools, with Waverley College and SCEGGS bringing 60+ new sailors to training three times a week. WSC also invested in six new OziOptis to increase their capabilities for Tackers programs with schools, term courses and school holiday programs. 

There was no shortage of successful regattas either, with the club delivering Sail Sydney 2022, the 2023 Wing Foil Australian Championship, 2022 OK Dinghy Australian Championship and 2022 Finn Class Australian Championship among many others. 

WSC continued their successful partnership with SailGP, which saw them again hosting the SailGP inspire series Sydney. This high-profile event aligns strongly with the club’s focus of supporting and inspiring youth sailors. 

Woollahra Sailing Club

The winner of the Club of the Year – Category A Award will be announced at the 2023 Australian Sailing Awards on November 3. For more information on the Awards including a full list of finalists, click here.