The 2022 Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Award
Eleanor was nominated for her perseverance and toughness in her first regatta since suffering an injury at the Atlantic Coast Championship in October. Lara Dallman-Weiss selected Eleanor and presented her with the award during the Tuuci OBIYR award ceremony on December 30th.
During the award ceremony, Lara remarked, "It was an absolute honor to announce the 2022 Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Award recipient. Eleanor Moore exemplified courage in many ways: after breaking her arm while helping a parent at the boat ramp, she gave her boat to another competitor with a damaged boat. Thinking of others while injured shows sacrifice, inclusiveness, and bravery. The sport of sailing must encourage our community to be happy for others'’ success; it is completely possible to teach and lift each other up and still be the fastest boat on the race course!" Congratulations Eleanor!
Eleanor Moore receiving the Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Award from Lara Dallman-Weiss
A Special Day For Me
Ever since the Sportsmanship Award was instituted on December 30, 2001, I have looked forward to this date every year. It’s a special date for me, for sure. In most of the years past, I have presented the award myself. Whenever I wasn’t available, other Olympians like Zack Riley and Anna Tunnicliffe stepped up and helped. This year I asked Lara Dallman-Weiss to fill in for me. Lara competed with her partner, Nikki Barnes, in the women’s 470 class at the 2003 Tokyo Olympic Regatta.
Despite spending the holidays in the Pacific Northwest, I was able to play a small part in selecting the winning nominee. Thanks to Chris Block and his team at the Coral Reef Yacht Club, nominations are now submitted online. We were scheduled to fly back to Miami on December 30, so what were my chances to interact and participate in the nomination process? Susan and I ended up stranded at the SeaTac airport in Seattle because American Airlines could not find spare tires for their Boing aircraft?! As it turned out, it worked out great. Chris shared the nominations with Lara and me. I called Lara, and we narrowed the field down to three nominations. I suggested to Lara that she would take it from there, and she did. Thank you, Lara, you are the best!