A Yachting New Zealand school programme has taken out one of the biggest prizes in sport, with RŪNĀ named winner of the Education and Training category at the 2026 Sport Positive Awards.
It's the programme's first major global accolade, and it came against a shortlist of more than 80 organisations and individuals drawn from sport worldwide. Twelve winners were named across categories spanning biodiversity, community initiatives, research, leadership and education.
RŪNĀ was up against serious company. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, World Taekwondo, UEFA and various European football clubs, Golf Ireland, Columbia University and the Sheffield United Community Foundation all featured on the shortlist.
The independent judging panel singled out RŪNĀ for its work with students aged eight to 15, blending classroom learning, hands-on sailing and real-world environmental investigation alongside research partners. The Education and Training category recognises programmes delivering exemplary learning on climate change, sustainability, climate justice or biodiversity.
RŪNĀ began life in 2021, run in partnership with schools, clubs and iwi. It uses sailing as the hook, then builds outward into marine science, renewable energy education and mātauranga Māori, with the goal of shifting students from simply knowing about environmental issues to actively doing something about them.
Three modules sit at the heart of it: Moanamana, Kōkōkaha and Kōrinorino. Between them, students get exposure to marine monitoring and restoration, wind energy innovation, and local history and navigation knowledge, all aimed at deepening their connection to the coastal environments on their doorstep.
The numbers behind the programme are substantial. More than 25,500 students and 830 teachers have now gone through RŪNĀ, delivered via 21 sailing clubs across two countries, with international expansion beginning in Chile.
Yachting New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage didn't hold back on what the win means.
"Winning against international federations and institutions of that calibre is hugely impressive," Armitage said. "The award is particularly significant because it provides independent international validation of RŪNĀ and Yachting New Zealand's environmental leadership, while also highlighting the clubs' contribution to delivering the programme on the water."
Armitage reserved particular praise for Yachting New Zealand education lead Alisa Torgersen, founding partner Dean Stanley, and Sally Carson, director of the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre at the University of Otago, which partners with Yachting New Zealand to deliver the Moanamana module.
"Alisa's leadership and commitment have helped develop RŪNĀ into what it is today," he said. "This recognition is a direct reflection of her leadership and commitment to driving the programme forward. It also reflects the work of the clubs, teachers, research partners and volunteers who bring it to life."
The win follows closely on the heels of another. RŪNĀ picked up the Environmental Sustainability Award at the 2026 New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards only months ago, recognition of its growth from a simple access-to-sailing initiative into a national ocean education programme connecting young people with sailing, science, mātauranga Māori and kaitiakitanga.
The programme's international expansion is already under way. The first overseas implementation launched at Colegio Puerto Varas in Chile's Lake District, with further opportunities being explored, giving RŪNĀ a growing footprint well beyond the clubs and classrooms where it began.
