By Alexander Smith
LONDON (Reuters) – Defender Emirates Team New Zealand and challenger of record INEOS Britannia said they aim to make the 37th America’s Cup less expensive for new teams, more inclusive and greener.
Their “protocol”, published eight months after Emirates Team New Zealand successfully defended sailing’s prized “Auld Mug” in Auckland, lays out the foundations and rules of participation for an event aiming to attract more challengers and fans.
But a key detail missing is where the next contest for the oldest trophy in international sport will be held, as the New Zealand team continue to negotiate a deal, with an announcement now promised on or before March 31, 2022.
“Its a really bold, progressive protocol. There is a lot that is in there that is pushing the sort of change that is required in the Cup and the sport,” INEOS Britannia CEO and Team Principal Ben Ainslie told Reuters.
“We’ve really tried to bring costs down and make it easier for teams to enter,” Ainslie said in a telephone interview on Tuesday, adding that by sticking with the AC75 “foiling” monohull used for the 36th America’s Cup they had provided much-needed continuity for long-term investment.
But mounting an America’s Cup challenge will not come cheap even with the changes, which include only building one new AC75 boat, cutting the number of crew from 11 to eight and introducing shared “reconnaissance”, with an estimated entry level cost of $50-60 million.
Among other innovations included are a first event for women in a new smaller AC40 version of the high-speed yachts, which lift out of the water on hydrofoils, and the re-introduction of a regatta for under-25s aimed at nurturing new talent.
To make the event more sustainable, all teams will have to build and operate two hydrogen powered foiling “chase boats”.
Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton said in a statement that the America’s Cup was “balancing the traditions … while continuing to push the boundaries of innovation, technology and design in the boats, the event, the broadcast and the commercial aspects of the event”.
(Reporting by Alexander Smith in London; Editing by Ken Ferris)
