Burling and Tuke up for 2015 ISAF Rolex World Sailor Award

Yachting New Zealand

MEDIA RELEASE

13 OCT 2015

Burling and Tuke up for 2015 ISAF Rolex World Sailor Award

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have been named as finalists for 2015 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. The winner will be announced on 10 November at the Award Ceremony in Sanya, China.

ISAF released their announcement overnight confirming Burling (24 years old) and Tuke (26 years old) as one of five finalists for the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Male Sailor of the Year.

Also named as finalists for world sailing’s top honour in 2014, Burling and Tuke were pipped for the title last year by Australian Jimmy Spithill for his America’s Cup achievements.

This year the New Zealanders are up against Frenchman Loick Peyron (offshore multihull racer) and three Brits including Giles Scott (Finn campaigner and member of Ben Ainslie Racing Team), Ian Walker (Skipper of Abu Dhabi, Volvo Ocean Race winner) and Ian Williams (Match Racing).

The New Zealanders’ achievements through the Awards period are difficult to summarize in a few sentences; ISAF have written;

When nominated for the 2014 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (NZL) were labelled as sailing’s hottest properties. One year on and that tag is as relevant as ever as they continue to dominate anything sail powered.

A run of 20 consecutive 49er regattas spearheads their nomination, including victories at the 2015 Aquece Rio, Olympic Test event, ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyeres and Weymouth and Portland as well as Trofeo Princesa Sofia.

Alongside their Olympic campaign the pair has become the leading lights of Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup World Series. A second at the first leg in Portsmouth, Great Britain turned into victory a few weeks in Gothenburg, Sweden to give them the overall advantage.

If the America’s Cup and Olympic Games wasn’t enough to whet their appetite, Burling dominated the Moth World Championships early in 2015 to take the title with Tuke following in sixth.

The ISAF World Sailor Awards were launched in 1994, and just four other New Zealanders feature in the previous winners list. They include Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie in 2013 (New Zealand’s first ever winners in the Female category), Sir Russell Coutts who has won ISAF Male Sailor of the Year twice, in 1995 and 2003, Mike Sanderson in 2006 and Sir Peter Blake in 1994.

Voting

The winners will be selected by the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), the national governing bodies for sailing around the world, by a process of voting prior to the event and on the night of the Awards. The MNAs are now invited to vote for the male and female nominee they believe most deserves the Award. This vote will contribute to 50% of the overall result, while the remaining 50% of the vote will be decided by those in attendance on the night in Sanya.

Each winner will be presented with the prestigious ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Trophy and a distinctive Rolex timepiece at the Award ceremony on 10 November 2015 in Sanya.

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