The Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Award

For the first time since its inception in 2000, nominations for the Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Award were submitted electronically. Anyone can nominate a sailor for sportsmanship-like behavior. Parents/guardians, race committee, judges, and fellow competitors may nominate a competitor from any of the sailing classes, Traditionally, nominations were submitted on a piece of paper which oftentimes were challenging to interpret. The online process is a lot more streamlined and it makes perfect sense in these Covid times.

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Sailors are nominated by demonstrating Courage, Respect, Integrity, Kindness, Good Judgment, Responsibility, and Self-discipline. This year, there were twelve nominations. The eventual winner had to cut his family vacation in Jamaica short and with only 24-hours notice he flew to Miami in order to fill in for a skipper who was sidelined because of Covid. As result, he missed the first race. The wind was light and without a tow, they missed the start. In the second race of the day, the topping lift malfunctioned and it adversely affected their performance. At the end of the day, he filed for redress. He also defended a couple of other boats who were late to start and they all ended up winning the redress. In race number three, he broke a shroud (side-stay) and wisely put the safety of his rented equipment first, and retired from the race.

Through all of this, the eventual winner held his head high, sailed with integrity, self-discipline, and most important of all, a positive attitude to the Race Committee as well as all of the competitors The winner of the Magnus Liljedahl Sportsmanship Award was won by Max Murray (sailing with Marcus Greco) who competed in the 72-boat 420c class. The team finished in 60th place. Max Murry represented Buzzards Yacht Club in Massachusetts.

For more information on the Orange Bowl Regatta, please visit their website!