Kevin Burnham Memorial Grants and Award
The US Sailing Foundation is accepting applications for the newly established Kevin Burnham Memorial Grant. They’re also welcoming nominations for the Kevin Burnham Memorial Award. The deadline for grant applications and nominations for the award is September 30, 2022.
Kevin Burnham was a 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 1992 Olympic silver medalist in the doublehanded dinghy 470 class. He was the oldest gold medalist at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He passed away from pulmonary disease in 2020 at the age of 63.
Grants
The Kevin Burnham Memorial Endowment Fund, set up under the umbrella of the US Sailing Foundation and Project Pinnacle, funds the grants. Grants are open to sailors aged 31 and under who demonstrate outstanding competitive sailing potential, display an infectious enthusiasm, and compete in two-person Olympic-class or Olympic Development-class trapeze boats. The selection committee may award one grant or several grants based on the applications received and the available funds.
Award
The Kevin Burnham Memorial Award is separate from the grants. The award is given to a competitor (or team of competitors) best exemplifying Kevin’s spirit, demonstrating passion, perseverance, persistence, sportsmanship on and off the water, love of the sport, and love of his/her competitors. The recipient can be of any age and must currently sail, or previously have sailed, an Olympic-class boat. Award recipients’ names will appear in the US Sailing headquarters in Bristol, RI, on a perpetual plaque displayed beside the Olympic torch that Kevin carried in the 1996 Games. Leo Boucher received the inaugural Kevin Burnham Memorial Award earlier this year at St. Francis Yacht Club.
The foundation will accept award nominations and grant applications electronically or via mail until September 30, 2022. To nominate yourself or another candidate for the Kevin Burnham Memorial Award or to apply for a grant, click here or call Lorie Anderson at the US Sailing Foundation at (401) 342-7943.
To remember Kevin with a gift to the Fund, click here or contact Jill Nosach at the US Sailing Foundation at (401) 342-7922. Contributions are tax-deductible in accordance with the law.
About the US Sailing Foundation
The US Sailing Foundation is the fundraising arm of US Sailing. It’s committed to the advancement of US Sailing in a variety of ways, including soliciting support for and promoting US Sailing programs, services and activities. For more information, visit www.ussailing.org/about/ussf.