Chris Symonds has made a habit of winning Para Sailor of the Year at the Australian Sailing Awards. Six times, in fact. But as the 2026 shortlist shows, the defending champion has never faced a field quite like this one.
The Tasmanian is joined on the list of three finalists by 2023-24 winner Genevieve Wickham of Western Australia and newly crowned Australian Para Champion Gregory Myers, who sails out of NSW/ACT. The winner will be announced at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour on Friday, October 30, joining an honour roll that already includes Paralympic and world champions.
Myers has had a dominant season in the Hansa 303 Single division, claiming both the Australian Para Championship and the open Australian Hansa Championship. In November 2025 he raced a demanding combined fleet at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, where the International Classes Regatta ran alongside the Australian Para Championship, winning the Hansa 303 one-person fleet as well as the national para title.
He backed that up at Easter 2026, taking out the Hansa 303 Single division at the open Australian Hansa Championships, proof his form holds against para and open fleets alike. Myers is a well-regarded figure at Dobroyd Aquatic Club, always approachable in the rigging area and happy to share tactical insights or lend a hand with boat set-up. He also volunteers at Middle Harbour Sailability, and is planning to compete at the World Masters Games in Kansai, Japan, with further para and Hansa events in Europe in his sights.
Symonds finished the 2025-26 season ranked fourth in the world in World Sailing's Two Person (Inclusive) para rankings. Racing with crew Manuela Klinger, he placed 10th at the World Sailing Inclusion Championships in December 2025 in the Para Inclusive Two Person Keelboat, and won the Australian Hansa Championships in the Hansa 303 two-person division.
Symonds is the long-serving Commodore of Wynyard Yacht Club, where he has steered the club toward a community focus, with a wide range of programmes for existing and new members and a particular emphasis on youth, fun and safety. He is involved in the club's Sailability and Saturday Sailing programmes and MAST training and testing, and is Commander of the Wynyard Surf Rescue. Beyond his own club, he chairs the Tasmanian Regional Advisory Committee, is Sailability Tasmania's North West representative and the Australian Hansa Class representative for Tasmania, sits on the board of the International RS Venture Connect Class, and is an Australian Sailing accredited coach.
Wickham's season peaked at TravemünderWoche in July, where she claimed gold at the 2026 RS Venture Connect European Championship and also won the Inclusive Championship against a world-class fleet of 26 boats from ten nations. Sailing with Grant Alderson, the Royal Perth Yacht Club sailor continues to build an outstanding international record. The pair were crowned 2023 RS Venture Connect Inclusive World Champions in Rostock, Germany, where they also won bronze at the Inclusion World Championship for Sailing, before returning to defend their title in 2024.
Wickham's story matters beyond the results sheet. Following a life-changing stroke in 2001, she has become a powerful example of perseverance, proof that sailing offers everyone the chance to compete, achieve and belong.
