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ISAF received nominations for the 2010 Awards from across the world for sailors representing all aspects of the sport. In deciding the nominees, the achievements of sailors made during the qualifying period of 1 September 2009 and 31 August 2010 are taken into consideration. There can be only one winner and we are delighted to announce the names of those sailors now vying for the coveted and prestigious 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award. The 2010 nominees are: Female The achievements of the 2010 Nominees are: Female Nominees
Kristin Boesse only began kitesurfing in 2001, but since then has established herself as the leading name in the business. In 2005 she won her first World title and then followed it up with a stack of awards across the disciplines, winning freestyle, wave-riding, slider and kicker, boarder-cross and course racing titles. In 2009, she claimed the IKA Course Racing title to bring her total to a phenomenal nine world titles. This achievement saw Boesse enter the Guiness Book of World Records in November 2009 for the most kiting world championship titles. In 2010, she continued to make her presence felt competing on the circuit but focussed most of her attention on encouraging others to take up the sport. Boesse launched KB4girls in December 2009, a non-profit organization that created a worldwide clinic tour for female kiters. This year alone, she ran eleven clinics on a shoestring budget and coached more than 300 girls. The project is designed attract new girls into the sport, to enhance skills for the more experienced, boost self-confidence and motivate them to compete. This determined woman is an outstanding athlete and is dedicated to promoting her sport, the environment and women’s participation. 2009 IKA Course Racing Champion 2009 Guinness World Record for most Kiting World Championship titles (9) Freestyle Waves Race
It’s all about firsts for Thailand’s Siripon Kaewduang-Ngam and her achievements over the past year have placed her in the history books forever. Ngam started windsurfing when she was 13 and by the time she was 16 she was making her mark on the international stage. Ngam won the Asian Championships in January 2010 to claim her place at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore sailing the Techno 293. She may have been one of the favourites going into YOG but her sheer domination of the girl’s windsurfing event has earned her another spot in the history books as the first sailor from Thailand to ever be nominated for this award. Eleven races were sailed in Singapore and the winner of an incredible seven of these was Ngam. She was unstoppable and didn’t finish any race outside the top ten. The gold medal was secured before the final day of competition so she can also claim to have won the first ever Youth Olympic Games sailing medal. This star of the future demonstrated a cool head by sailing a conservative final race, reminding herself to “just think about crossing the finish line”. Techno 293
In September 2009, Blanca Manchón was crowned 2008-09 ISAF Sailing World Cup champion after dominating the competition throughout the seven-regatta series. Manchón sealed the deal with a victory at the final regatta of the series, Skandia Sail for Gold in Weymouth, to bring her total of gold medals to four. This talented young windsurfer finished on the podium at every single regatta she sailed, an outstanding achievement. Manchón claimed the silver medal at the 2009 RS:X World Championships in Weymouth, but it is gold that she really strives for. One year on and the RS:X fleet were in Denmark for the 2010 World Championship and this time Manchón was going to settle for nothing less than the top of the podium. It did not come easy and she had to dig deep to come from behind in the Medal Race to take the win. Manchón is one of the busiest sailors on the circuit and sailed at six of the 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas, finishing on the podium at five of them. Second in Miami was her first medal followed by another silver in Hyères. She then claimed her first gold at the Delta Lloyd Regatta before finishing both Kieler Woche and Skandia Sail for Gold with the silver medal. The impressive consistency of Manchón secured her second consecutive ISAF Sailing World Cup win. RS:X – Women’s Windsurfer 1st overall 2008-2009 ISAF Sailing World Cup
Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout make a formidable team and although they may not have a long history sailing together they have a talent to make it count when it matters. Teaming up in May 2009, the goal for this team is Olympic gold in 2012. Westerhof and Berkhout kicked off the nomination period with a win at the 2009 Skandia Sail for Gold before going on to sail at five of the 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas. Their best performance was on home waters at Delta Lloyd Regatta where they won the silver medal in May. The main target for this team in 2010 was the 470 World Championships at The Hague. The defending champions were set to make history if they could take home another gold medal and in a regatta that threw extreme conditions at the sailors, they showed their class. Going into the Medal Race one point behind the leaders, Westerhof and Berkhout sailed a tactical race to secure their gold medal. Two world titles for Westerhof is an exceptional achievement and the 2010 win for Berkhout makes her the most successful 470 sailor in the history of the class with five world titles. Westerhof combines her sailing career with her professional career as an airline pilot, while Berkhout is dedicated to the future of the sport, working with children around the world to inspire them to take up sailing. 470 – Women’s Two Person Dinghy |
