The finalists for the Yachting Journalists’ Association (YJA) Young Sailor of the Year 2025 awards have been announced, and RS Sailing is proud to see two of the three shortlisted sailors are competitors in RS classes.
Hari Clark – RS Tera
Hari Clark enjoyed a remarkable 2025 season, winning the RS Tera World Championship in the Sport class in the very same year he joined the RS Tera fleet. Coming from a non-sailing family, Hari credits Draycote Water Sailing Club for much of his development, highlighting the strength of the club’s youth pathways.
Having started racing just three years ago, Hari has already built an impressive list of achievements, including titles at both the Topper 4.2 National and World Championships, before moving into the RS Tera class.
Ben Pascoe – 2000
Also nominated is Ben Pascoe, who won the 2000 Class National Championship 2025 at Hayling Island Sailing Club. Sailing with his father as crew, Ben made history at just nine years old as the youngest-ever helm to win the 2000 Nationals.
The son-and-father team perfectly embodies the spirit of the 2000 class – fast, family, fun.
2025 Young Sailor of the Year – Voting Open
The other nominees for the 2025 Young Sailor of the Year award are Sabine Potter & Merle Nieuwland (420 class) and Lila Edwards & Amelie Hiscocks (29er class). All four sailors won gold medals for Great Britain at the Youth Sailing World Championships.
Katy Stickland, chairperson of the YJA, commented: “We have seen a bumper year for nominations, with sailors nominated in all fields of the sport from the offshore racing to national and world championships and incredible feats of seamanship.”
“Narrowing this extensive list down to a shortlist of three in each category was exceptionally difficult, given the calibre of the nominees, and I would like to thank everyone who took the time to nominate. Congratulations to all of those who were nominated.”
Voting closes at 23:59 on 9th February 2026, open to YJA members.
The winners will be announced at the awards presentation on Saturday, 21st February 2026, during the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show, on the Sunsail Main Stage at 17:00. See you there! Heading to the show? Check-out what’s on the RS Sailing stand.
