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The Harman Hawkins Trophy is awarded yearly (the first award
was presented at the 2005 Spring Meeting in Newport, RI) to an individual who has made
outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing in the field of Race
Administration (Judging, Race Management, Appeals and Racing Rules).
Selection of the recipient will be made by the Race
Administration Committee from nominees sought by the
Judges, Race Management, Appeals and Racing Rules committees. Nominations
are open from April 1 through January 15.
To submit a
nominee please
click
here.
2008 Harman Hawkins
Award
Bill Bentsen (Chicago, Ill.)
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(Photo courtesy Ellen Bentsen)
US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, has
announced it is presenting its Harman Hawkins Trophy for excellence in Race
Administration to Bill Bentsen (Chicago, Ill.). US SAILING President Jim
Capron and Race Administration Committee Chair Dick Rose made the
announcement earlier today at US SAILING's Spring Meeting in Newport, Rhode
Island. Unable to attend the US SAILING meeting, Bentsen will officially be
presented with the award at a later date. Presented annually, US SAILING’s
Harman Hawkins Trophy is awarded to an individual who has made outstanding
contributions to the sport of sailing in the field of race administration
(judging, race management, appeals and racing rules).
After an outstanding sailing career capped by two Olympic medals, Bentsen
has made significant contributions in all areas of Race Administration. He
has been influential in setting the direction for the US SAILING Judges
program when that program was in its infancy and has become a highly
respected US SAILING Senior Judge and an International Judge serving at all
levels of the sport, including the Olympic Games. In the 1970s, working with
the race committees at the national sailing center at Association Island,
N.Y., Bentsen developed strikingly innovative and effective new race
management techniques.
Bentsen's major contribution has been on the US SAILING Appeals Committee as
well as both the US SAILING and the International Sailing Federation Racing
Rules Committees. He served on those three committees for decades and his
contributions are legendary. It is no exaggeration to say that Bentsen's
knowledge of sailboat racing and his analytic and writing skills have
affected every racing rule, every US SAILING appeal and every ISAF case.
Following in the footsteps of Harold Vanderbilt, Gregg Bemis, Gerald
Sambrook-Sturgess, and Mary Pera, Bentsen is the person who has made the
most contributions to improving the racing rules of sailing in the last
thirty years.
The Trophy is named after Harman Hawkins (1919-2002),
whose extraordinary involvement in sailing and numerous chairmanships of the
Appeals, Judges, and Legal Committees brought him many honors and awards,
including US SAILING's prestigious Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy. In his
lifetime, Hawkins served as a President of US SAILING, Commodore of
Manhasset Bay Yacht Club and Storm Trysail Club and President of the Yacht
Racing Association of Long Island Sound.
Harman Hawkins (1919-2002)
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Harman
Hawkins (1919-2002) was a past president of the United States Yacht
Racing Union (now United States Sailing Association), a commodore of Manhasset Bay
Yacht Club, a president of the YRA of Long Island Sound, and a commodore
of the Storm Trysail Club. His extraordinary involvement in sailing and
his numerous chairmanships of the Appeals, Judges and Legal Committees
brought him many honors and awards including the Nathanael H. Herreshoff
Trophy, US SAILING's highest award. It is most fitting that this award
be named after Harman, a man that gave back so much to the sport he
loved.
First USYRU Committee on Judges
Harman Hawkins, Chairman
Mark H. Baxter
Jack H. Feller, Jr.
Evans M. Harrell
George I. Rockwood, Jr.
Richard M. Rose
Glenn V. Russell
Frank R. Shumway, Jr.
Ronald L. Ward
The following comments were made by the
Race Administration Chair, Jim Capron, for the initial presentation of
the Harman Hawkins Trophy to Ron Ward, of Annapolis
Maryland, at the Spring Meeting in Newport, RI, April 2, 2005.
The Mystic Seaport
Museum remembers Harman Hawkins as the "consummate yachtsman". Many of
you may remember Harman as a past president of the United States Yacht
Racing Union in the early 1980's (from 1980 to 1982) before the USYRU
changed its name to US SAILING. I remember Harman from the first time I
met him. Mary Savage invited me to judge at Shelter Island with the
"venerable" one. Venerable indeed.
Harman Hawkins was an
active sailor, cruising with his family all over the world, and
competing in one designs and offshore events, including 8 Bermuda races
and 3 Halifax races. Harman lent his professional skills as a legal
advisor to several Americas Cup syndicates and to various yacht clubs
running the Cup around the world.
But it was Harman's
extraordinary contributions to the sport in the area of race
administration that is our focus tonight.
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Member of the IYRU
Board of Review, Racing Rules, and Constitution Committees.
-
Chairman of the
USYRU Racing Rules and Appeals Committees
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Chairman of the
first USYRU Judges Committee.
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International
Judge, at the Olympic Regatta in Korea, Admirals Cup,Congressional Cup,
numerous other International events around the world.
-
Harman was the
recipient of our own Herreshoff Award and received ISAF's Silver Medal
for service to the sport.
Last year, Harman's
family, his wife Janet and sons Christopher and Jonathan, donated a
beautiful trophy in Harman's name, in honor of his huge contribution
to the sport. The Harman Hawkins Trophy is presented to an individual
who has made outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing in the
field of Race Administration - Judging, Race Management, Appeals and the
Racing Rules.
A few words about how we decide the winner
-
The US SAILING Race Administration Committee
- the committee that coordinates the appeals, judges, race officers and
racing rules committees - selects the winner of the Harman Hawkins
Trophy. Throughout the year, we receive nominations from US SAILING
members. The Race Administration Committee then appoints a working party
of experienced racers and race officials from around the country to pick
the most deserving nominee.
This year, we asked Mary Savage, a US
SAILING and International Judge from Larchmont, NY and a long time
friend of the Hawkins family, to chair the selection working party,
which also included Ann Newton from Florida and Tom Lewick from
California. After reviewing the nominations, the working party
recommendation was unanimous, and it was particularly fitting that they
selected a person who worked alongside Harman on the first USYRU
Committee on Judges.
- Jim Capron, Newport, RI, April 2, 2005
The
Judges, Race Management, Appeals and Racing Rules committees are
seeking
nominations from US SAILING members for the award.
To submit a
nominee please use this link.
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