Ticket sales are now open for the 2025 Barfoot & Thompson Yachting Excellence Awards. To secure your tickets, please click here. Ticket sales will close on Friday 15th November 2025 or when sold out.
This year's event will once again honour the best the country has to offer, recognising excellence in sailing performance, officiating, coaching, sustainability, sportsmanship, leadership and community service. The event will be held at Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on Friday 28th November 2025.
New Zealand has produced, and continues to produce, some outstanding sailors who have achieved amazing feats on the world stage. Previous winners of the Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy for the Sailor of the Year include last year's 49er Olympic silver medallists Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie, Sir Peter Blake, Barbara Kendall, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, Sir Russell Coutts, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, Bruce Farr, and Emirates Team New Zealand.
The awards are also an opportunity to recognise achievements at local and club level and there are many who do so much to make these places special.
The following award categories will be recognised in 2025:
- Orbit World Travel Sailor of the Year Award for the Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy
- Barfoot & Thompson Male Sailor of the Year Award
- Barfoot & Thompson Female Sailor of the Year Award
- NZL Sailing Foundation Young Male Sailor of the Year Award
- NZL Sailing Foundation Young Female Sailor of the Year Award
- B&G Performance Coach of the Year
- Yachting New Zealand Emerging Coach of the Year
- Millennium Hotels Official of the Year
- PredictWind Emerging Talent Award
- Lawson's Dry Hills Peter Lester Award for Outstanding Contribution to Sailing
- MAST Academy Young Leadership Award
- North Sails Sportsmanship Award
- Evocean Sustainability Award
- Yamaha Motor NZ Service Awards
- Radix Nutrition Performance Awards
- Appliances Online Youth Performance Awards
- Kiwi Yachting & Baltic Lifejackets Cruising Awards
For a list of all previous award recipients, take a look at our Roll of Honour.
For more information or if you have any queries, please contact Angela Jordan at angela@yachtingnz.org.nz
