2023 saw a new Award added to the line-up for the Australian Sailing Awards – the Club of the Year – Category B Award.

With larger Category A clubs with professional management dominating the Club of the Year winners list over the past ten years, it was decided to create a new category intended to give smaller clubs the opportunity to be recognised for their work growing the sport in their local communities. 

Clubs were encouraged to nominate themselves for the appropriate Award based on their Australian Sailing Club Affiliation banding.  

The category was hotly contested, with a 130% increase in the number of Category B clubs across the country nominating for the award compared to last year’s Club of the Year Award. 

The judges had a difficult time selecting the three finalists from the State Award winners, but came up with the following deserving clubs. 

A social club with a community focus, Humpybong Yacht Club is one of the fastest growing Discover Sailing Centres in Queensland. Over the 2022-23 season they grew membership by 35%, almost doubled their number of fully qualified instructors and continued in their role as the host club for Deaf Sailing Queensland.  

Humpybong’s two annual regattas are the Humpybash and Winterbash, which both attract dinghy and off-the-beach catamaran sailors from as far south as Sydney and as far North as Townsville. They also now have the Women and Girls’ Regatta (WaGR) which is also attracting a strong following. 

The highly skilled management committee of the Humpybong Yacht Club has a strong commercial governance background through a diverse range of backgrounds in retail, customer engagement, sports administration, and construction. The constitution has been regularly updated to keep it current with the latest in governance practices and policies are kept in line with best practice advice from Australian Sailing. 

Humpybong Yacht Club

The entirely volunteer-run Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club on the New South Wales north coast has emerged from its share of challenges to post a 31% growth in their club membership over the past twelve months. 

The battle through the challenges of COVID restrictions was compounded by the loss of numerous foreign visa holders who had to return home as well as the devasting flood, which all but destroyed the nearby city of Lismore and put significant parts of the town of Ballina underwater. 

To work their way out of these challenges the club created a world-leading Skiff Coaching program where participants with little or no sailing background are coached to become crews, and subsequently skippers, of high-performance twin wire skiffs. 

The club runs two Sailing Introduction courses each year, giving about 30 people a taste of sailing over three days. Thanks to some strategic changes to the course over the past year the nine club boats are often fully booked for practice sessions and the first graduate learners have now begun entering full club races. 

Richmond River Sailing and Rowing Club

Sandy Bay Sailing Club celebrated it’s 75th anniversary by winning the Tasmanian Club of the Year – Category B Award and has now been duly rewarded in being announced as a Finalist for the National Awards. 

The club posted a 20% growth in membership across the year, largely driven by the immensely successful Learn to Sail program. Through the organisation of 15 Tackers programs, an impressive total 146 young sailors have graduated from their respective courses out of the 'Intro to Tackers' , ‘Tackers 1’ and ‘Tackers 2’ courses. 

Throughout the year the club played host to a myriad of successful regattas, including the 'PJs Super Series,' the inaugural WASZP State Championships and the 2022/2023 Australian Sharpie Nationals (in conjunction with the Derwent Sailing Squadron). 

Sandy Bay stands as a shining example of gender parity in sailing, with an impressive 38.2% female membership, surpassing the national average. Their dedication to inclusivity is evident through strong female representation among administrators, committee members, and volunteers, creating a truly inclusive environment. 

Sandy Bay Sailing Club

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