The Yachting Journalists’ Association announces the start of the public nomination process for their coveted awards in 2023, the Yachtsman of the Year, Young Sailor of the Year and the Young Journalist of the year.
These prestigious awards recognise and honour outstanding achievements and
contributions within the world of boating and media, by celebrating excellence in performance, seamanship, sportsmanship and youth talent.
The Yachtsman of the Year has been a highlight of the yachting calendar since it was founded in 1955 by the late Sir Max Aitken, chairman of Express Newspapers and himself a leading yachtsman. The Young Sailor of the Year Award was first introduced in 1993 to recognise young upcoming talent on the water, and the Young Journalist of the Year Award has subsequently been introduced to encourage and reward budding talent in the industry.
The 2022 winners included the exciting talent of two youngsters, Hattie Rogers, for her win at the SailGP WASZP INSPIRE Grand Final in San Francisco,
All three YJA Awards are open to those holding a British passport, with the Young Sailor of the Year and Young Journalist of the Year open to those under the age of 19 on the 31st December 2023. The nomination process begins at 16.00 on 20th September and is open until 23:59 on Sunday 8th October.
Anyone can make a nomination for these awards and are actively encouraged to do so. The YJA Committee will then vote on the final 3 nominations for each award, and the YJA memberships will vote on their selection in each category.
Please submit your nominees via the following link – https://yja.world/2023-yja-awards-nominations-nominate-here/
Cliff Webb, Chairman of the Yachting Journalists’ Association added, “It is always exciting to begin the process with this nomination period, as we never know who may be put forward to be considered for one of the awards, or for what. These trophies truly recognise the very best in British boating. I am also very interested to see new nominations for the YJA Young Journalist of the Year, which is designed to encourage those just starting out, which can be in any medium, and who knows what doors this may open in the industry for them’.
Arrangements for the presentation of the awards will be announced in due course
For further information: Cliff Webb chairman@yja.world
Note to Editors: Previous winners of these awards include Sir Ben Ainslie, who won both the Young Sailor and later the main award, Dame Ellen McArther and Sir Robin Knox-Johnson – full list available here: https://yja.world/awards/yoty-past-winners/
The aim of the Yachting Journalists’ Association is to promote greater awareness of all aspects of leisure boating through the professional services offered by its members. These include the written word – in newspapers, magazines books and websites; the spoken word – on radio, on television and in visual presentations; and illustrations. The YJA represents hundreds of specialist marine journalists, photographers, TV and radio presenters and Web editors across all the major sailing and boating regions in the world.