Kiwi duo Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush are in the running for one of sailing's top international honours, named as finalists for Team of the Year in the 2026 World Sailing Awards.
They are the only New Zealand representatives on this year's shortlists. Spain's Diego Botin and Florian Trittel, the Luna Rossa Team from Italy, Britain's Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris, and France's The Famous Project CIC round out the Team of the Year field.
The award goes to a crew of two or more, celebrating sailors who show integrity, ambition, resilience and resourcefulness.
World Sailing unveiled the full list of finalists this morning across six categories, including the male and female Rolex World Sailor of the Year, the male and female Young World Sailor of the Year, and the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Impact Award. The finalists include world champions, round-the-world record holders, rising junior talents and grassroots organisations, each impressing the judging panel for what they achieved over the past twelve months.
Winners will be revealed at a live ceremony in Qingdao, China, on Wednesday 18 November 2026.
Voting is open now, and anyone with an interest in sailing can have a say in deciding the winners. Public votes will count for half the result, with the other half coming from World Sailing's panel of expert judges.
Fans wanting to back Menzies and Lee Rush need only sign up or log in with an email address to cast a vote. Voting closes at 12:00 UTC on Monday 2 November, leaving a window of a few weeks to get behind the Kiwi pair.
Elsewhere on the shortlists, the female Rolex World Sailor of the Year category features Paula Barcelo and Maria Cantero of Spain, Italy's Maria Giubilei, France's Lauriane Nolot and the USA's Charlotte Rose. The men's equivalent is a two-horse race between France's Thomas Coville and Luuc van Opzeeland of the Netherlands.
Young sailors get their moment too. Medea Falcioni (Italy), Catalina Turienzo (Argentina) and Tamar Steinberg (Israel) are up for the female Young World Sailor of the Year, while Manuel Bragança (Brazil), Gian Andrea Stragiotti (Switzerland) and Federico Pilloni (Italy) contest the men's title.
The 11th Hour Racing Impact Award recognises off-the-water contribution. The Little Optimist Trust from South Africa, Shake-A-Leg Miami in the USA, Germany's Turning Point Foundation and The Yacht Club Hyderabad in India are all in contention there.
For New Zealand sailing fans, the Menzies and Lee Rush nomination is the one to watch. Qingdao is a long way from home, but a public vote means the result doesn't have to be.
