Royal Geelong Yacht Club takes out Australian Sailing Victoria's 2020 Sport Promotion Award
by Sarah Pettiford 22 Sep 2020 21:55 BST
2020 49er, 49rFX and Nacra 17 World Championships © Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy / World Sailing
After its biggest sailing season in the club's 161-year history, Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC) has won the 2020 Sport Promotion Award at the Australian Sailing - Victoria Awards.
Australian Sailing - Victoria announced today that Royal Geelong Yacht Club is the recipient of this award, after being named a finalist two weeks ago, alongside James Mitchell from Sandringham Yacht Club and the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV).
RGYC has continually delivered high quality events including its annual Festival of Sails and bi-ennial Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong. The success and growth of these events has allowed RGYC to attract and deliver world class events including a variety of National and World Championships.
Over the 2019/20 sailing season, RGYC hosted an unparalleled 'Summer of Sailing' including: the Cadet National Championship; the 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17 Oceania and World Championships; and the Laser Masters Oceania and Australian Championships.
In particular, the 49er, 49rFX and Nacra 17 Championships included three Olympic Sailing Classes, being the final event for countries to be selected in their Olympic team.
"RGYC delivered a 17-day program of racing for the three classes as well as hosting the National Federations and their teams at the Club for over a month leading up to the event, as the elite athletes trained and prepared to compete on Corio Bay," Commodore Stuart Dickson said.
"The sport of sailing was showcased with boats displayed across almost half of the Geelong waterfront and live on-water viewing opportunities presented to the public for the Medal Races.
"RGYC and surrounding areas in Geelong were activated for an ongoing three-month period through events being held at the Club," Commodore Dickson said.
RGYC is also a finalist in the 2020 Club of the Year category at the Australian Sailing - Victoria Awards, with the winner to be announced on Thursday, 24 September 2020. RGYC last won Australian Sailing's Victorian Club of the Year in 2017. You can view the full announcement and award acceptance on Facebook.