World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Impact Award

In 2018, World Sailing and 11th Hour Racing joined forces to create the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Impact Award. The award celebrates the effective execution or ongoing delivery of high-impact, highly replicable sustainability initiatives aligned with the World Sailing Sustainability Agenda 2030. The award has distributed $80,000 in grants to eight winners.

Winners are decided on a proportional vote from a judging panel and the public ballot. The international award applicants range from individuals to sailing clubs, events, classes, federations, and the broader marine industry. In 2025, the award was expanded to cover positive impact in environmental footprint and social outcomes through sailing, and to celebrate significant contributions to sustainability in sailing by individuals and teams. The 2025 award was announced in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, as part of the 2025 World Sailing Annual Conference. 

  • Each award winner will receive a $10,000 prize to further their sustainability initiatives, along with a trophy crafted from recycled carbon fiber.
  • The judging panel consists of 11 global sports experts with backgrounds in sailing, sustainability, and maritime industries
  • The award is presented alongside the Rolex World Sailor of the Year, the Kuehne+Nagel Young World Sailor of the Year, the World Sailing President’s Development Award, the Beppe Croce Trophy, and the World Sailing Technology Award.

 

Visit the World Sailing Website

Past Winners

2025 Winner

LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES Project – Royal Yachting Association is a landmark collaboration uniting conservation bodies and the recreational boating community to restore and protect fragile seagrass and meadows, and maerl beds across southern England. The project has reached over 29,000 people, engaged more than 7,000 students in marine education, and trained over 2,400 boaters in sustainable anchoring practices.

2024 Winner

Winds of Change promotes peace by uniting Cypriot youth through sailing. Its achievements include the first Cyprus circumnavigation in 50 years, hosting the “Olympism for Peace” event, and recognition in the UN Secretary General’s report. With nearly 2,000 youth impacted, it earned the 2024 “Peace Award” from the Youth Board of Cyprus.

2023 Winner

The Magenta Project won the 2023 World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award for advocating gender diversity across the sailing industry. Its nine-month mentoring program accelerates progress in their chosen field through one-on-one mentoring, expert seminars, and goal-setting. It supports up to 40 mentees annually, and with 150 female graduates so far, alumni often mentor others, assume leadership roles in sport governance, and inspire the next generation.

2022 Winner

Greenboats won the 2022 World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award for pioneering the design and manufacture of natural fiber products and components, demonstrating a viable, sustainable alternative to conventional composite materials. The FLAX27 Daysailor concept boat has been tested in the harshest of marine environments and has the potential to change the footprint of sailing.

2021 Winner

Sail Africa Youth Development Foundation won the 2021 World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award for increasing the 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 after year. Sailing is now a much more multicultural sport.

2020 WINNER

Starboard won 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.

2019 WINNER

Royal Yachting Association (RYA) / The Green Blue won the 2019 World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability 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.

2018 WINNER

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.

Background

World Sailing launched the World Sailor of the Year Awards in 1994 to reward individual sailors for outstanding achievements in the sport. Rolex has been sponsors of the award since 2001, celebrating more than two decades of excellence and achievement in sailing.

World Sailing and 11th Hour Racing joined forces in 2018 to celebrate the delivery of high impact and replicable sustainability within the maritime industry aligned to World Sailing’s Sustainability Agenda 2030. The winner will receive a 10,000 USD prize to fund their continued sustainability efforts and the iconic trophy made from recycled carbon fibre from an America’s Cup boat infused with bio resin.

The World Sailing Annual Conference is organised and supported by Irish Sailing and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.