The jury has been announced for this year’s Best of Boats (BOB) Awards in Berlin, Germany. They come from 16 countries and represent every important watersports destination and boatbuilding nation.

This year there will be more jury members from the US, Italy and Denmark. The US is by far the largest market for motorised watersports and will be represented by two jury members – Zuzana Prochazka and Dominique Salandre.

Zuzana Prochazka is a long-standing board member of the journalists’ association Boat Writers International and its future chair, as well as a contributor to numerous US boating magazines. It will be her first time on the BOB Awards jury.

Dominique Salandre, editor of Yacht & Sea and a founding member of the BOB Awards, is returning to the jury for his second year.

Denmark is represented for the first time by Troels Lykke of Minbaad. Giacomo Guilietti, who writes for Barche a Motore, one of the best-established Italian boat magazines, is another newcomer to the jury.

The complete BOB Awards jury for 2019 is:

• Zuzana Prochazka (Sea Magazine/Southern Boating, USA)
• Vincent Borel (Hors Bord, France)
• Uwe G Meiling (float, Germany)
• Troels Lykke (Minbaad, Denmark)
• Stanislaw Iwinski (Żagle, Poland)
• Neale Byart (Motorboat Owner, UK)
• Krunoslav Mihic (Burza Nautike, Croatia)
• Kerstin Zillmer (float, Germany)
• Julijan Višnjevec (Val Navtika, Slovenia)
• Jan Sjölund (Venemestari/Totalvene, Finland)
• Giacomo Giulietti (Barche a Motore, Italy)
• Gerasimos Gerolimatos (Skipper On Deck, Greece)
• Enrique Curt Iborra (Mares, Spain)
• Dominique Salandre (Yacht & Sea, USA)
• Bogdan Parfeniuk (Farvater, Ukraine)
• Bernd Hofstätter (Ocean7, Austria)
• Arek Rejs (Wiatr, Poland)
• Anton Cherkasov-Nisman (Motorboat & Yachting Russia, Russia)
• Alfred J Boer (Varen, Belgium/Netherlands)

The BOB Awards highlight all aspects of motorboating, taking the owner’s perspective into account. Award categories include Best for Beginners, Best for Family, Best for Fun (active watersports), Best for Travel and Best for Fishing (sports and amateur fishers). There will also be a Special Award for ground-breaking new developments in the boating industry.

The winners of the 2019 BOB Awards will be announced at Boat & Fun Berlin on November 21.