Three sailors from Nova Scotia amongst Sail Canada's Annual Awards recipients

Three sailors from Nova Scotia amongst Sail Canada's Annual Awards recipients © Sail Canada

Sail Canada announced today that Sullivan Nakatsu from Hammonds Plains, N.S., and Lilly Rainham from Halifax have won Sail Canada's 2023 Bill Burk Memorial Youth Elite Award, while Ryan Anderson, also from Halifax, received the Sail Canada Marvin McDill Memorial Award.

Nakatsu, Rainham and Anderson are the second, third and fourth winners from Nova Scotia to receive a Sail Canada 2023 Annual Award. Earlier this year, Chris Watters was named Sail Canada's Coach of the Year.

These winners will be recognized at Sail Nova Scotia's "Evening of Excellence and Fundraising 2024" event on November 15 at the Atlantica Hotel Halifax. Details and tickets are available at www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-of-excellence-and-fundraising-2024-tickets-1032151772737?aff=oddtdtcreator.

The Bill Burk Memorial Youth Elite Award recognizes sailors who are 18 years old and under and have shown a record of outstanding achievement in national and international youth competition, have brought recognition to Canadian competitive sailing, have set an example for other youth competitors through behaviour and manner, and have demonstrated leadership and sportsmanship.

Nominations were evaluated based on a time period ranging from January 1 to December 31, 2023.

During that time frame, Sullivan Nakatsu finished first overall at the Sail Canada 2023 Youth Championships in ILCA 6, as well as at Sail East 2023. At the 2023 Youth World Championships held in Brazil, he took the 12th position overall in ILCA 6, which was the top Canadian performance at that annual competition since at least 2009. At the 2023 ILCA Youth World Championships in Poland, he registered the best Canadian performance with a 51st position, making him the top North American sailor and the only one to qualify in the Gold Fleet.

"I am honoured to receive the Bill Burk Award for the 2023 Season," said Sullivan Nakatsu. "I'm very pleased with how the season turned out and I want to thank all the athletes, coaches and parents who travelled out of province to train in St. Margaret's Bay, bringing sailing in Canada to a higher level. I would also like to thank the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron and my team, which have been like a second family to me and have been growing, improving and bonding as one solid team led by our coach Chris Watters, who goes above and beyond every day out on the water. I am very honoured to receive this award with all their help and support."

Lilly Rainham was also named cowinner of Sail Canada's 2023 Bill Burk Memorial Youth Elite Award.

Rainham, who only learned to sail in 2020, was the second-place youth female sailor, and 18th overall including non-youth and male sailors, in ILCA 6 at Sail Canada's 2023 Youth Championships. At Sail East 2023, she was the first-place female sailor and took the second spot overall when including male athletes. At the 2023 Youth ILCA 6 Championships, she was the top Canadian in the female contest with a 39th position. At the 2023 World ILCA 6 U21 Championships, she was also the top Canadian with a 44th-place finish.

"I am incredibly honoured and humbled to receive the Bill Burk Memorial Award," said Lilly Rainham. "I would like to thank Sail Canada for this recognition as well as to extend my thanks to Sail Nova Scotia, the CSIA support team, the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, Wind Athletes Canada, and to my family for their unwavering support from day one. I am deeply grateful to my coach Chris Watters for seeing potential in me, and to my teammates, training partners, Kyle Martin, and coaching team for pushing me to fulfill that potential. This season has turned out better than I could have dreamed of, but this is just the beginning. I have big ambitions and am committed to maintaining the same discipline and passion that led me to this award as I continue to pursue my goals."

Additional information on the Bill Burk Memorial Youth Elite Award is available at www.sailing.ca/bill-burk-memorial-youth-elite-award-past-winners.

Ryan Anderson: winner of Sail Canada's 2023 Marvin McDill Memorial Award

Ryan Anderson has been named recipient of Sail Canada's 2023 Marvin McDill Memorial Award.

The Marvin McDill Award is presented to an athlete or a crew that have achieved the best results at their first Open World Championships as members of the Canadian Sailing Team. The determination of best performance is based on the percentage of boats finishing behind the athlete or crew at their first participation as a member of the Canadian Sailing Team in an Open World Championship.

In 2023, Ryan Anderson took the 66th position out of a total of 138 competitors in ILCA 7 at the World Sailing Championships in The Hague, NED. Also in 2023, he finished in 5th position at the ILCA North American Championship held as part of the 2023 US Open Sailing Series.

"I appreciate the recognition for my efforts at the 2023 World Sailing Championships, and it's an honour to win this award," said Ryan Anderson.

Additional information on the Marvin McDill Memorial Award is available at www.sailing.ca/marvin-mcdill-memorial-award-past-winners.