Three sailing instructors have been named finalists for Instructor of the Year at the 2026 Australian Sailing Awards, with the winner to be announced at Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour on Friday, October 30.
Ian Fox of Victoria, Samantha Hogerheyde of Queensland, and Scott Reynolds of NSW/ACT make up the shortlist. The award recognises instructors who show exceptional self-development and leadership in developing others, and all three have built their reputations over years of steady, often unglamorous work on the water.
It is one of several categories building toward the same night, with finalists already announced for Team of the Year, the Sport Promotion Award, the Sport Professional category and Official of the Year.
Fox has spent more than 20 years as Training Manager at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria. He runs a year-round programme through the club's accredited Discover Sailing Centre, covering keelboats, powerboat handling, marine radio and the ever-popular Tackers junior learn-to-sail scheme.
What stands out is conversion. Tackers graduates move into RYCV's Off the Beach fleet, and adults who finish his keelboat courses often join the club outright, crewing in races and settling into club life long after the lessons end.
Over two decades he has also mentored a long line of instructors and volunteers, feeding directly into Australian Sailing's Discover Sailing pathway.
In Queensland, Hogerheyde oversees Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club's sailing programmes as Sailing Coordinator and Senior Instructor, a role that recorded more than 8,400 attendances in the 2025-26 financial year. She runs roughly ten Adult Learn to Sail courses annually alongside junior squads, school programmes, holiday camps and Sailability sessions for sailors with disability.
Retention is her calling card. Hogerheyde leads a mostly female instructor team, actively encourages women into coaching and leadership roles, and has built a culture at Noosa where beginners stick around, whether they're chasing fun or chasing podiums.
Reynolds' story carries a different weight. He came to sailing a decade ago as a self-described "reluctant participant" on a Start Crewing course, held back by injuries from his military service. During the nomination period he gained Senior Instructor accreditation in both Keelboat and Powerboat, alongside a Sailing Coach qualification.
As co-founder of the Saltwater Veterans Sailing Project, he has led programme delivery across Sydney, Pittwater, Newcastle, Gosford, Adelaide and the Sunshine Coast, with the project logging more than 2,000 participant registrations across 292 activities during the nomination period. He has also trained nine new keelboat instructors on the Sunshine Coast, four of them veterans themselves.
Three different paths to the same shortlist: two decades of steady club building, a programme built on keeping beginners hooked, and a late arrival to sailing that has grown into a mission to help fellow veterans find the water. The Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour will decide which one takes the title on October 30.
