World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award renewed through to 2024

Starboard won the award in 2020 © World Sailing

World Sailing is pleased to announce a four-year partnership extension with 11th Hour Racing for the title sponsorship of the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award.

The Award is the highest recognition of success in marine sustainability. First awarded in 2018, it celebrates the effective execution or ongoing delivery of high-impact, highly replicable sustainability initiatives aligned to World Sailing's Sustainability Agenda 2030.

The winners receive an iconic trophy, made from recycled carbon fibre sourced from an America's Cup boat and infused with bio resin, and a $10,000 USD prize, to help further their sustainability activities.

The 2021 Sustainability Award will open for applications on 9 July 2021. The winner will be announced at the 2021 World Sailing Awards, a celebration of the sport which sees the awarding of the Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award, Team of the Year, and Boat of the Year.

Corpus Christi Yacht Club (CCYC) won the inaugural award in 2018 following the successful delivery of the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships, and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) / The Green Blue claimed the accolade in 2019.

In 2020, public voting was introduced to engage the international sailing community. With 10,000 votes received, Starboard won the Award for their comprehensive sustainability initiatives, including reclaiming 1.1kg of plastic for every board produced through their Plastic Offset Program.

The World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award has attracted more than 100 high-quality entries worldwide that showcased sustainability initiatives within the sport -- ranging from individual sailors, to sailing clubs, events, classes, federations, and the wider marine industry.

David Graham, World Sailing chief executive officer, said, "11th Hour Racing shares our commitment to sustainability and safeguarding the oceans and waterways that our sport is dependent on. They have a long-standing history of celebrating and supporting sustainability initiatives and today's partnership extension showcases this in action.

"We deeply value 11th Hour Racing's dedication to World Sailing and our sport in general. They are committed and focused on what we as a marine community need to do and are strong advocates for sustainability in sailing."

Dan Reading, head of sustainability at World Sailing, commented, "I am delighted 11th Hour Racing have extended their sponsorship of the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award. Since its inception, we have seen some superb examples of sustainable initiatives from technological solutions, event management and individuals.

"Having the ability to promote the winners to our audience and give them the recognition they deserve, as well as providing them with a grant to further their work, is amazing. I always look forward to reviewing the entries as it is hugely inspiring and shows how, as a sport, we can collectively take action in a number of ways to be more sustainable."

"This award was established to encourage the sailing community to deepen its sustainability efforts through collaboration and innovation. Building on this momentum, we are proud to continue sponsoring the award for another four years. The last three years have introduced an exciting group of initiatives working on the broader concept of sustainability in the sport, and we look forward to meeting the next round of innovators later this year," noted Jeremy Pochman, co-founder and CEO of 11th Hour Racing.

Previous Winners

2020 - Starboard

Starboard claimed the 2020 trophy for their sustainability initiatives including the Plastic Offset Program which sees the reclaiming of 1.1kg of plastic for every board produced. Starboard also have a stand up paddleboard kids educational programme and have reduced their own carbon emissions. They also compensate for unavoidable carbon emissions of each board manufactured by planting mangrove trees to absorb emissions 10 times over.

2019 - Royal Yachting Association (RYA) / The Green Blue

Royal Yachting Association (RYA) / The Green Blue won the Award for their efforts to empower boaters in the United Kingdom to take action on sustainability through providing clear training and guidance on key issues to over 1,500 sailing clubs and 1,500 sail training centres.

2018 - Corpus Christi Yacht Club (CCYC)

Corpus Christi Yacht Club (CCYC) won the inaugural award in 2018 following the successful delivery of the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships. Driven by the dedication of the CCYC volunteer Green Team, the Youth Worlds was the first World Sailing Championship with a focus on ocean conservation and sustainability.