Three exceptional nominees headline the Volunteer of the Year award, one of the most anticipated awards at the 2026 Australian Sailing Awards. 

Chris Chatburn (SA), Gerard Del Favero (QLD) and Emma Hooper (TAS) have all beenrecognised for their contributions to sailing, where they have left an indelible mark on their communities and continue to work tirelessly behind the scenes. 

The nation’s peak sailing awards will be held at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour on Friday, October 30. 

The Finalists: 

Chris Chatburn 

Chris Chatburn has transformed the way volunteering is valued, organised and celebrated at Goolwa Regatta Yacht Club. 

Chris heartily embraced the Volunteer Coordinator role on the club’s General Committee, Chris turned volunteer management from an informal, behind-the-scenes task into a recognised leadership portfolio. Volunteers & Club Culture is now the first pillar of the club’s Strategic Plan 2026–2036.  

Chris hasworked hard to rebuild and strengthen the Club’s volunteer community, she reached out to former volunteers who had drifted away, welcomed many back, and takes time to know members and match each person with a role where they can succeed. Chris has coordinated volunteers across a busy calendar including twilight racing, Discover Sailing, the Secondary Schools Teams Sailing Championships and the Goolwa-Milang Regatta Weekend, and organised training in first aid, marine radio and race management. 

Chris introduced public acknowledgement of volunteers by name and role at race presentations, along with the club’s Volunteer of the Year award and Celebration of Volunteers social night.  

GRYC now has a larger, more engaged and more capable volunteer workforce than ever before. Volunteers feel connected, supported and appreciated, while the Club has greater confidence in its ability to deliver events safely and successfully. 

Chris does this all with warmth, humility and an ever-present smile. 

Gerard Del Favero 

Known unofficially as Tinaroo Sailing Club’s “Master Rigger”, Gerard Del Favero is a familiar and respected volunteer at regattas across Queensland and Australia, often taking other sailors’ rigging home overnight to return it race-ready the next morning. 

Gerard is one of those rare volunteers who quietly becomes the backbone of every sailing community he supports. He is always willing to step forward and help wherever needed, whetherthat's providing technical support, mentoring sailors, beach marshalling or solving last-minute problems.  

He freely gives his time, expertise and often his own materials to upgrade control systems, splice Dyneema and repair fittings, with the simple goal of raising the standard of the whole fleet, regardless of a sailor’s club, state or experience. 

In 2025 he volunteered as Australian Team Manager at the O’pen Skiff World Championships in Japan, coordinating coaches, equipment and logistics while supporting Australian families, as well as his two daughters who were both racing in the regatta. The campaign culminated in Australia winning the Under 17 World Championship. 

Despite his national and international involvement, Gerard remains deeply committed to grassroots sailing.  At Tinaroo he volunteers on every sailing day, taking new sailors, particularly adults, out on the water, and is a qualified Australian Sailing Instructor, Learn to Sail volunteer and club committee member. 

His contribution cannot simply be measured by the volunteer hours he gives. It is measured by the confidence he builds in new sailors, the knowledge he freely shares, and the opportunities he creates for young people. 

Emma Hooper 

Emma Hooper has made an exceptional contribution as a volunteer at club, state, national and international level, leading around 80–90% of Sandy Bay Sailing Club’s racing each year as Race Officer. 

During the season she was pivotal in delivering the Australian Teams Racing Championship, where 280 races were completed over four days. She also stepped in at short notice as Race Officer for the Australian 29er National Championship, cutting short her own holiday so the event could go ahead. 

Emma recently qualified as a National Race Officer and is working towards International Race Officer accreditation. She also serves on SBSC’s Sailing Management Committee and is just as willing to help at working bees, in the boat park or in the canteen. 

For more than a decade she has supported the International Cadet class, serving as Secretary and President of the Tasmanian association, President of the Australian association for three years, and since 2018 on the International Cadet Class World Council, which she has chaired for the past three years. 

All of this includes taking on significant logistical work involved in selecting and preparing Australian teams for World Championships. On an international level she helps coordinate the annual World Championship, including host planning, logistics, and communication.Among her proudest achievements is coordinating the team effort that relaunched the Indian Cadet Class after a gap of some 20 years. 

Emma’s volunteering is grounded in generosity and a genuine desire to give back. As a parent of three sailors, she first became involved to support the sport her children loved, but her impact now reaches far beyond her own family.