Judging panel announced for World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Awards 2022

Judging panel announced for World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Awards 2022 © World Sailing

With just one week remaining to submit nominations for this year's World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award, the fifth edition of the highest recognition of success in marine sustainability, World Sailing has unveiled its expert panel of judges:

• Alexandra Rickham, Head of Sustainability at World Sailing, Para Sailor and five-time World Champion. Chair of the Judging Panel.

• Todd McGuire, Managing Director of 11th Hour Racing, sponsors of the award.

• Hannah Mills OBE, the most successful female sailor in Olympic history, a double Olympic champion and two-time world champion, IOC Sustainability ambassador, SailGP Global Sustainability spokesperson and founder of the Big Plastic Pledge.

• Cristina Mittermeier, World-renowned conservationist and photographer, co-founder of SeaLegacy, named one of National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year in 2018. Recipient of Smithsonian Conservation Photographer of the Year Award, the Imaging Award for Photographers Who Give Back, Seattle Aquarium's Sylvia Earle Medal, and Travel + Leisure's Global Vision Award.

• Peter Burling MNZM, one of New Zealand's most accomplished sailors, Olympic gold medallist, nine-time world champion, two-time America's Cup champion, and two-time World Sailor of the Year. Co-founder of the Live Ocean Foundation.

• Lungi Mchunu, sailor, Polar explorer, citizen scientist, and known as the first African female to sail to the Arctic. She's part of the Homeward Bound alumni and is currently a sailor aboard Maiden's World Tour, raising funds for girls' education in STEM. She is also working on completing Pole to Pole and competing in the toughest solo sailing race, the Vendée Globe.

• Bruno Giuntoli, Sustainability Manager at Foiling Week, a World Sailing Special Event, and founder of the Foiling SuMoth Challenge which brings students together from around the world to design, manufacture and sail a sustainable Moth.

From these finalists, a public vote will help decide the winner which will be announced at the 2022 World Sailing Awards on 25 October 2022, held at the World Sailing Annual Conference in Abu Dhabi. Winners will receive a $10,000 USD prize to further their sustainability programme.

Click here for the 2022 World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award nomination form.

Launched in 2018, the award celebrates the delivery of high-impact, highly replicable sustainability initiatives aligned with the World Sailing Sustainability Agenda 2030. World Sailing and 11th Hour Racing encourage entries from individual sailors, sailing clubs, events, classes, federations, and the wider marine industry, no matter how big or small their programme or initiative may be. Past winners of the award have all demonstrated a commitment to reducing their environmental impact and raising awareness around conservation.

Past winners of the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award

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.

The following year, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) / The Green Blue won the 2019 award for its efforts to empower boaters in the United Kingdom to take action on sustainability through providing clear training and guidance on key issues.

Starboard were named winners of the 2020 World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award for its Plastic Offset Program, reclaiming 1.1kg of plastic for every board produced. Starboard reduces its carbon emissions and compensates for unavoidable carbon emissions by planting mangrove trees 10 times over for every single board. World Sailing created a case study on Starboard's efforts to inspire action around the world.

In 2021, Sail Africa Youth Development Foundation received the award for increasing participation of ethnically diverse and female sailors in Durban, South Africa. In the time since launching, the number of girls racing has increased, and podium positions have improved year on year, making sailing a much more multicultural sport. The programme has doubled as a life skills initiative, ensuring positive sustainable outcomes around alleviating poverty, reducing inequality, developing education, and creating environmental awareness.