Kingston, October 28, 2024 – Sail Canada announced today that Madeline Gillis (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS) and Galen Richardson (Toronto, ON-RCYC) have been named recipients of the Nathan R. Cowan Memorial Award.
Created in 2002, the Nathan R. Cowan Memorial Award aims to support developing sailors through financial support, a way to honour the memory of Nathan Cowan who, after years of determination and persistence, achieved his goal of becoming a Canadian Sailing Team member. However, a few months later, Nathan Cowan passed away tragically in a car accident.
Nominations were evaluated based on a time period ranging from January 1 to December 31, 2023.
Madeline and Galen have been competing together in the Nacra 17 class since the winter of 2022. Their first event as a team was at the 2022 Nacra 17 World Championships in the home province of Madeline, and they subsequently finished the 2023 competitive season with four international regattas under their belt. That included the 2023 Princess Sofia Regatta, where they secured their qualification to represent Canada at the 2023 Pan American Games, allowing them to go on to a 4th-place finish at that latter event. They also finished 15th at the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Youth World Championships in Belgium.
In 2024, the young team missed out on qualifying Canada for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Nacra 17 by just one point at the Last Chance Regatta.
“We are so honoured to be the recipients of the 2024 Nathan R. Cowan Memorial Award,” said Madeline Gillis and Galen Richardson. “We would like to thank the Cowan family and Sail Canada. This support will be instrumental in helping us push to the next level in the international fleet.
“We would also like to thank everyone who has supported us early on in our sailing campaign. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our provinces, our home sailing clubs, RNSYS and RCYC, the Canadian Sport Institute Atlantic/Ontario, as well as our families and friends.
“This award is very special to our team as Galen was a member of the Queen’s University Sailing Team like Nathan was, and he was the recipient of the university’s Nathan Cowan Memorial Award in his final year at Queen’s. The significance and impact of Nathan’s legacy means so much to us.
“We are proud to honour Nathan’s legacy of perseverance and determination as we strive for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.”
More information on the Nathan R. Cowan Memorial Award is available at https://www.sailing.ca/nathan-r-cowan-memorial-award-for-developing-sailors-past-winners/.
About the Nathan R. Cowan Memorial Award
The Nathan R. Cowan Memorial Award is given out annually to a Canadian sailor who is 19 years of age or older as of December 31 in the year of the nomination and who is not a member of the Canadian Sailing Team or a carded athlete during the year of the award. The winner will have shown a record of outstanding achievement in national and international competitions, have followed a committed training program during the year of the award, brought recognition to Canadian competitive sailing, have demonstrated leadership and sportsmanship, and have made efforts in fundraising through sponsorship and private contributions.
Since 2002, the Nathan R. Cowan Memorial Award has annually supported one athlete or one team, including Olympians David Wright, Stéphane Locas and Oliver Bone, Lee Parkhill, Tom Ramshaw, Jacob and Graeme Saunders, Will Jones and Evan DePaul, as well as current Sail Canada Development Squad members James Juhasz, Mac Morrin and Clara Gravely.
About Sail Canada
Established in 1931, Sail Canada is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in the country. Sail Canada is a leading international sailing nation, proud of its world class athletes, lifelong participants and inclusive culture. The organization and its members are committed to excellence by developing and training its leaders, athletes, sailors, instructors, coaches and officials. With the valued support from our partners, the Provincial Sailing Associations and our member clubs, schools, organizations and stakeholders, sailing is promoted in all its forms. By setting standards and delivering programs from home pond to podium for Canadians of all ages and abilities, from dinghies to keelboats, cruising to navigation, windsurfing to powerboating and accessible sailing, Sail Canada sets sail for all, sail to win and sail for life.
A sport in the Olympic program since the first Games in 1896, except in 1904, the pursuit of success in these Games is what fuels the focus of Sail Canada as Canadian athletes have so far achieved nine Olympic and five Paralympic medals.
