Three teenagers with world-class results behind them are the finalists for a brand-new title in Australian sailing: the inaugural Noakes Group Male Youth Sailor of the Year, to be decided at the 2026 Australian Sailing Awards.
Rory Meehan, Connor Radford and Jasper Stay have been named finalists for the award, which has been split by gender for the first time this year after Noakes Group was announced as Australian Sailing's official youth sailing partner. The change means both female and male youth sailors now have their own dedicated award. The winner will be revealed at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour on Friday, October 30.
Meehan, from Queensland, is the reigning Youth Sailor of the Year and arrives with serious form behind him. He placed seventh at the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta in July 2026, racing against many of the world's best senior iQFOiL athletes and Olympic medallists, then backed that up with the Under-19 iQFOiL World Championship title in Brest, France, against a fleet of 149 of the world's best youth windfoilers. He was also awarded a Tier 3 Scholarship through the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program this year. Rory began sailing at age seven in Pacers, Flying 11s and 29ers before moving into the iQFOiL in early 2022.
Connor Radford, from NSW/ACT, has made his name in wing foiling. He finished fourth at the Formula Wing Youth World Championships in Silvaplana, Switzerland, in June 2026, behind three international riders who regularly rank inside the world's top ten. That followed a 14th-place finish at his first international competition, the WingFoil Racing World Cup in Silvaplana, where he scored a race victory over riders currently ranked inside the world's top ten.
At home, Radford finished second at the Australian Nationals, won the Sail Brisbane Open Wing Foil, which doubled as the Queensland State Titles, and was third U19 at the New Zealand Nationals. He has been sailing since age ten in Pelicans, Open Skiffs, Flying 11s, Cherubs and 13ft Skiffs, moving into wing foiling three and a half years ago, and has become a leading figure in the Lake Macquarie wing foiling community.
Jasper Stay, from Western Australia, finished second overall and first U19 at the 2026 ILCA 6 UK National Championship in July, in a strong 111-boat fleet. That result earned him selection to represent Australia at the Youth World Championship.
At the 2025-26 Australian ILCA 6 National Championships, he finished fifth in the open fleet of 74 and was the top youth male, racing against top-ranked Australian and international senior athletes including World Championship medallists and Olympians. He was also the top youth male at Sail Melbourne and finished 26th at the 2025 U19 ILCA 6 World Championships. In 2026, Stay achieved Australian Institute of Sport categorisation and was awarded a Western Australian Institute of Sport scholarship.
All three are recognised for giving back to their sport as well as competing in it. Radford regularly shares his knowledge with riders of all ages and abilities in the wing foiling community, while Stay coaches and mentors younger sailors at his local club.
Meehan won last year's award outright, when the Youth Sailor of the Year was still a single, ungendered category. Past winners of that award include Nathan Outteridge, Jessica Watson and Glenn Ashby, company that gives some sense of the standard this new generation is being measured against.
