2023 Tom Larmour Awards

The ‘Young Sailor of the Year’ award for 2023 went to Alexandra Yam. Ally has consistently shown one of the highest levels of effort and work ethic putting in maximum effort in training and one of the highest participation rates in training and RHKYC Club racing. Ally has also grown into a leader of the team always helping and mentoring younger sailors. During the last year, she has approached the sport with the highest level of respect and politeness for fellow competitors, race officials and members and set a fantastic example for her peers. Beyond her impressive work ethic and team spirit, she has shown consistent results at a high level throughout the season and qualified for the national team at the recent IODA world championships. The Tom Larmour ‘Young Sailor of the Year’ trophy was presented to Alexandra Yam. 

The Commodore advised that the criteria for the next award, ‘Most Promising Young Sailor’, are that the candidate should have a very high attendance as a competitor in dinghy races, show great improvement in race results throughout the year and be a keen learner who shows a great commitment to sailing. This award went to Xavier Wilde. Xavier has shown a fantastic improvement over the last season. After a challenging first season in the ILCAs, he came to his second season with renewed effort focusing on fitness, technical ability and dedicating more time to his sailing. He has shown rapid growth in ability and has also grown within the team, setting benchmarks for fellow sailors. At the end of the season, Xavier’s hard work was rewarded with an invitation to the HKSI National team (which he has declined, electing to continue sailing with the club next season). The Tom Larmour ‘Most Promising Young Sailor’ trophy was then presented to Xavier Wilde. 

The Commodore advised that the purely results-based ‘RHKYC Sharks Performance Sailor of the Year’ award went to Helen Liu this year. In the 2022-23 season, Helen got 1st at the HKODA Nationals; 2nd at Hong Kong Race Week (1st HK sailor and 1st Female); 1st at the HKODA Selection regatta; 1st at Hebe Haven Yacht Club Open Dinghy Regatta; and was ranked 86th and the 1st HK sailor at the IODA World Championships. Helen has surpassed all other Sharks Sailors in results both locally and internationally during the 2022-2023 season. Not only has she won three major regattas in Hong Kong, but has also secured the best results internationally amongst all Optimist sailors representing Hong Kong. She has capped off her achievement with selection to the Hong Kong team for the Optimist World Championships and Asian Championships. Helen has also recently won the HK Optimist National Championships becoming the first girl in over 25 years to win this event twice. The RHKYC Sharks Performance Sailor of the Year award was then presented to Helen Liu.