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Sport Promotion Award

2022 - 23 ORCV Media Team 

The ORCV Media Team has consistently demonstrated exceptional efforts in promoting sailing, fostering community engagement, and showcasing the sport of sailing through outstanding media and communication initiatives. The club has used the power of the media to increase participation, most obviously through their 50th Melbourne to Hobart race campaign which saw a carefully crafted media plan break 25-year race record of forty-nine yachts and 371 sailors onboard.


2021 - 22 Nick Bez

World Champion Nick Bez has been the President of the Windsurfer Class Association of Australia for the past five years. He has been instrumental in the organisation and growth of the class in Australia, and recently oversaw the 45th Australian Windsurfer Class Championships, an event which generated mass media interest and saw more than 110 athletes compete.


2020 - 21 Ocean Racing Club of Victoria

Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) in the most challenging of years, has been able to successfully organise and promote multiple sailing events and activities resulting in increased participation, publicity and community interest in sailing.


2019 - 20 Royal Geelong Yacht Club

Royal Geelong Yacht Club had an incredible year hosting seven major national and international events, the Festival of Sails and the Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong.  The club has dedicated itself to focussing on community engagement, club accessibility and female participation.


2018 - 19  - The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV)
The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV) has successfully promoted sailing to a local, national and global audience using a multi-channel communications strategy utilising targeted online and offline marketing communications channels. Success is shown by participation of 274 yachts with 3,624 sailors on board, 450 students attending ORCV courses, 1.1 Million visitors to ORCV website, Facebook followers increasing 15 percent to 32,400 with a peak Facebook audience of 56,256, 1.5 million TV viewers on ABC and Channel 9 and 159,000 listening in to race updates on ABC Grandstand (source TV Tonight, ABC Radio and Radio alive).


2017 - 18  Nicole Douglass - Adventures of a Sailor Girl
Nicole proudly represents Australia and the sport of sailing while away and at home, taking the sport to new audiences through her live coverage and “on the ground” approach.  Adventures of a Sailor Girl has a multi-platform communications approach with a website, app, Facebook page, Instagram account, YouTube channel, Twitter site and podcast.  Her coverage of events generates great interest, putting sailors and the community that makes sailing, front and centre


2016 - 17  Nicole Douglass - Adventures of a Sailor Girl
Nicole proudly represents Australia and the sport of sailing while away and at home, taking the sport to new audiences through her live coverage and “on the ground” approach.  Adventures of a Sailor Girl has a multi-platform communications approach with a website, app, Facebook page, Instagram account, YouTube channel, Twitter site and podcast.  Her coverage of events generates great interest, putting sailors and the community that makes sailing, front and centre


2015 - 16  Nicole Douglass - Adventures of a Sailor Girl
Nicole proudly represents Australia and the sport of sailing while away and at home, taking the sport to new audiences through her live coverage and “on the ground” approach.  Adventures of a Sailor Girl has a multi-platform communications approach with a website, app, Facebook page, Instagram account, YouTube channel, Twitter site and podcast.  Her coverage of events generates great interest, putting sailors and the community that makes sailing, front and centre >> Nomination Citation


2014 - 15 Kite The Reef

Kite The Reef was an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled by kitesurf across the Great Barrier Reef. The distance of 1,185km was to be completed by eight kitesurfers, completing the distance individually, not as a relay.  Co-Event organiser and participant Alex Unsworth was unlucky to break his femur during the event but the other seven participants completed the distance and the publicity gained from the event, and Alex’s rescue was very positive >> Nomination Citation


2013 - 14 Albury Wodonga Yacht Club

Volunteer-run club Albury-Wodonga Yacht Club returned from years of drought to now offer all aspects of the Discover Sailing program including a Discover Sailing Day, Discover Sailing Dinghy Program, Discover Sailing Experiences, Sailability and Tackers. The club also employs ‘Member Development programs’. AWYC continually aims to promote sailing throughout the local community by participating in public events including the 2013 Wodonga City Children’s fair and 2013 Albury City Children’s Christmas Party.


2012 - 13 The Canberra Yacht Club

The Canberra Yacht Club was named as the Sport Promotion Award winner for the introduction of a special sailing program, Buoyed Up, which is designed to provide vulnerable young people aged 7-12 years with a fun, confidence-building sailing experience.


2011 - 12 Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championship

 

The Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships was the largest international regatta ever held in Australia. Over 1,000 athletes and 400 coaches from 77 countries descended on Perth for two weeks of racing off the coast of Fremantle.


2010 - 11 Gavin Wall

Gavin works tirelessly with the Royals Training Centre, a part of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria,to develop, promote and manage a number of seccssful programs.


2009 - 10 The Boat Shed at Albert Park (VIC)

The Boat Shed at Albert Park is a new initiative for Yachting Victoria and has become a centrepiece for the promotion of sailing in Melbourne. Established by Yachting Victoria and partnered by Variety Victoria, Marine Safety Victoria, Victoria and Parks Victoria, it targets young people and provides innovative and widely recognised promotion of the sport in an affordable, accessible, safe and fun way.


2008 - 09 Yachting Victoria

Yachting Victoria's "Go Sailing" day recently attracted around 1700 people to the 14 participating yacht clubs. A media partnership has been developed with the Leader Group and the "Go Sailing" website has been redeveloped, targeting people who have not been involved in sailing before. The "Go Sailing" program continues to go from strength to strength, promoting sailing to a wide range of communities and individuals across Victoria.


2007 - 08 Royal Geelong Yacht Club (VIC)

RGYC boasts a proud history that stretches almost 150 years over which time it has strongly supported and promoted the sport of sailing, actively marketing the sport to both the sailing and general community.   Examples include interactive websites, press & TV coverage and engaging future generations of sailors through the many well established programs from: Come Try Sailing, Adult Introduction to Keelboat Sailing, Youth Training to Sailability. RGYC hosts a great many regattas with the pinnacle event being Skandia Geelong Week which has become Australia's largest sailing event due in large to its appeal across all levels of yachting enthusiast from beginner to the elite performer.


In 2008, the Sport Pormotion Award was introduced to replace the Media Award in order to acknowledge an individual or organisation who has positively promoted the sport.


2006 - 07 Vanessa Dudley

Vanessa has been sailing for over 37 years in classes ranging from skiffs to yachts as well as sitting on numerous boating committees. Vanessa’s first hand experience and passion for sailing gives her a better understanding of how to successfully promote the sport in a positive and thought provoking manner. Through her editorship at Australian Sailing, Vanessa continues to promote ‘small boats’ and continually looks for and promotes new ideas and thinking in the sport.

Lisa Ratcliff

Lisa has been the CYCA Communications Manager for 11 years and in 2006 she was promoted to Media Director for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. In addition, she works tirelessly to promote the CYCA Youth Sailing Academy, Safety of Life at Sea Trust and community programs for the disadvantaged. Over the last decade, Lisa has built up a good network amongst her media peers and is well respected.

Di Pearson 

Di has more than 20 years experience in the yachting media industry. She has covered many facets of the sport from Sydney Hobart Yacht Races, 18ft Skiff launches and America ’s Cup campaigns. More recently, Di has been the Media Manager for the inaugural Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta and Skandia Geelong Week as well as co-editor of the Boating Oz. Di is well known and liked amongst the yachting community and media covering the sport.


2005 - 06 Graeme Adam

Graeme has, over the past 18 months, made a big difference in his public relations role for disabled sailing. His voluntary role has been of particular benefit to Sailability NSW, the Australian Access Dingy Class Association and generally across Australia, promoting competitive and recreational Access Dingy Sailing, getting the message across that "sailing is for everyone".


2004 - 05 Peter Campbell

Peter is a widely recognised yachting journalist and has been raising the profile of the sport since 1948 when he began covering the Sydney Hobart for The Mercury. He is also a former editor of Modern Boating magazine and has written several books about yachting. Peter is a keen sailor.


2003 - 04 No Media awards were awarded this year.


2002 - 03 Joint Winners Paul Pascoe and Bob Ross

Paul Pascoe has been involved in sailing and computer related activities since his first event at the 1982 Hobie Nationals. Since then Paul has been involved in various computer related sailing activities with websites and results for three Olympic Games and 28 World Championships. He is currently employed by the International Sailing Federation as their website programmer.  Paul Pascoe citation.

Bob Ross has been employed in yachting media for most of his life.  In 1976 Bob co-founded Australian Sailing magazine, along with counterpart Ken McLauchlan. Ten years later they sold the title to Yaffa Publishing, but Bob remained as Editor. Australian Sailing is released monthly, and is Australia’s leading competitive sailing magazine. Bob Ross citation.


2001 - 02 Ian ’Stripey’ Grant

A prodigious worker who is able to recall and contrast not only the events of the past, but to build them into a story that is relevant and up to date in both content and interest for the reader. Over the years Stripey, with his encyclopedic memory, his sense of history and his smile has become the face and voice of sailing for much of Australia.


2000 - 01 Kathy McKenzie

Honoured for her contribution through the electronic media – both e-mail and website. The BoatingOZ e-newsletters aim primarily to provide free weekly up to date information to the sport, recreation and industry sectors. The complimentary website, provides a wide variety of sailing and boating information specialising in Australian boating charters. The website aims to promote Australia as a boating destination.


1999 - 00 Amanda Lulham

Recognised as one of the leading journalists for yachting, having covered the many and varied aspects of the sport diligently. Amanda’s coverage of the sport over many years has been thorough and she is well respected for her efforts to attend the major yachting events in Australian and overseas, whether they be Olympic class sailing, world championships or offshore races.


1998 - 99 Peter Campbell

Sailing journalist, occasional radio and television spokesperson and media director of many major yachting events on the Australian calendar. Editor of Offshore Magazine, the Alfred Yachtsman. Peter provides many hours of volunteer assistance to the YA of NSW and to many clubs and regatta organisers. Known for balanced journalism over a long period.


1996 - 98 Bob Ross

Former editor of Modern Boating Magazine, contributor to the Sydney Morning Herald, founder and current editor of Australian Sailing Magazine. A long standing journalist who has always reported at a high standard and who has done much to raise the profile and understanding of yachting in Australia. Bob is a keen sailor himself.