Lisa Hickman misses out on 2014 Female Sailor of the Year
When the list of nominees were announced earlier in the year, it was a huge surprise and a major win for the sport of kiteboarding when Lisa was nominated. To have a kiteboarder in the list of only four sailors from Australia is a huge achievement!
Recognized for her impressive results in the IKA racing tour, as well as her friendliness and fun character on the beach, Lisa was also given special mention for helping mentor and introduce newcomers to the sport of kite racing.
Training hard on the Sunshine Coast, Lisa also works with her partner Mike Walker running Kitethrills at Currumundi. She’s a regular on the beach, and really does some fantastic work getting girls into the sport of kiteboarding. Always up for a chat, and often spending half her afternoon launching and landing, not only can the girl kite faster than most guys, she’s an awesome ambassador for the sport.
Also nominated, were Vanessa Dudley, Lisa Darmanin and Nina Curtis, all sailors of the tradition kind in Nacra 17 and Laser Radial classes. Vanessa Dudley won the award for her double achievement of second place aboard Ragamuffin 100 in her 18th Sydney to Hobart last year, and her win in the Grand Master Laser Radial division at the 2013 World Championships. Despite sailing the Laser in some of the most challenging conditions out there, and partaking in ocean passages aboard the 100ft Maxi, get this! She still says she could never dream of kiteboarding!
Lisa’s brother Rob Hickman was also nominated in the Male Sailor of the Year finalists, in recognition of his passion and dedication to the sport in the ocean racing sector. Unfortunately he too missed out on the top spot, instead won by Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan from the 470 class.
