The 2024 America's Cup was the 37th staging of the

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

yacht race. It was contested from 12 October 2024 as a first-to-seven-wins match-race series in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, between ''

Taihoro ''Taihoro'' is an AC75 foiling monohull racing yacht that successfully defended the America’s Cup for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) from 12-19 October 2024 in the 37th America’s Cup match in Barcelona, Spain. It defeated ''Brit ...

'', representing the defender, the

Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is a New Zealand yacht club, and the club behind New Zealand's America's Cup campaigns, under the guises of New Zealand Challenge and Team New Zealand. It held the America's Cup from 1995 until 2003, beco ...

; and ''Britannia'', representing the Royal Yacht Squadron of the United Kingdom, which won the Louis Vuitton Challenger Selections Series, also in Barcelona, on 4 October 2024. It was the first time the UK has sailed in an America's Cup match since 1964. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is again the defender of the America's Cup after its yacht ''

Te Rehutai ''Te Rehutai'' is the AC75 foiling monohull yacht that Emirates Team New Zealand used to successfully defend the America's Cup for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in March 2021. It beat the winner of the 2021 Prada Cup, ''Luna Rossa Prada Pi ...

'', owned and sailed by the

Emirates Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The team has been branded as Emirates Team New Zealand at America's Cup competitions since 2007. Team New Zealand be ...

syndicate, was the successful defender in the

36th America's Cup The 2021 America's Cup in March 2021 was the 36th staging of the America's Cup yacht race. It was contested on the inner Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, New Zealand, between the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Circolo della Vela Sicilia of It ...

, beating the challenger

Luna Rossa Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on its first attempt in 2000, but t ...

, representing

Circolo della Vela Sicilia Circolo della Vela Sicilia is a yacht club in Mondello, a northern borough of Palermo, Sicily. The club was the "Challenger of Record" for the 36th America's Cup where they were represented by their team, Luna Rossa Challenge. See also * Italy a ...

, 7–3 in a first-to-seven series raced from 10 to 17 March 2021 in the

Waitemata Harbour Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to: * Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand * Waitematā railway station, the public transport hub in the central business district of Auckland, formerly Britomart Station * Waitematā ...

and

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Immediately after ''Te Rehutai'' achieved its seventh win in the 36th America's Cup, the Chairman of Royal Yacht Squadron Racing, Bertie Bicket, issued a pre-arranged, "friendly" challenge to the Commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Aaron Young. This made Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd the Challenger of Record for the next America's Cup. The

was founded in 1871 as the Auckland Yacht Club and took its current name in 1902 after receiving a warrant in the name of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

. Royal Yacht Squadron Racing was founded in 2014 and is an affiliated member of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

History

The America's Cup is a highly prestigious event, being the oldest continuous competition in international sport, and the fourth oldest continuous sporting trophy of any kind. As of 31 March 2021, a total of 36 cup matches have been held. With 25 matches the New York Yacht Club has won the most titles so far. The 36th match from 10 to 17 March 2021 was the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's fourth America's Cup victory, following its wins in 1995, 2000 and 2017, making it the second most successful club in the competition's history. The 2021 win also made the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron the only club to have twice successfully challenged for and then defended the America's Cup.

Terms of Challenge

Background

The challenge by Royal Yacht Squadron to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron was made on board the 110-foot luxury sailing yacht ''Imagine'' immediately following the completion of the 10th and final race of the

on 17 March 2021. The challenge was a pre-arranged "friendly" challenge arranged by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd and their respective sailing teams

Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a Sailing (sport), sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The team has been branded as Emirates (airline), Emirates Team New Zealand at America's Cup competiti ...

and

Ineos Team UK Athena Racing is a British sailing team that is the challenger of record for the 2027 America's Cup, 38th America's Cup. The team was established in 2012 with the ambition of winning the America's Cup for Great Britain and to 'bring the cup h ...

. The fact of the challenge and some details were made public on 19 March 2021. Both the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd consider the challenge to be valid.

Rules for issuing a Challenge

Terms of RYS Challenge

The full text and terms of the challenge have not been made public, but a number of areas of agreement have been revealed in media statements by the Royal Yacht Squadron and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and their sailing teams, and in subsequent public comments. Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron said they would negotiate and issue a protocol to govern the 37th America's Cup by 19 November 2021, eight months after they revealed initial information about the challenge.

Yacht class

It has been agreed the America's Cup 75 (

AC75 The AC75 (America's Cup 75) is a racing yacht used in the 2021 America's Cup and 37th America's Cup matches and planned to be used for the 38th America's Cup match. The monohulls feature wing-like sailing hydrofoils mounted under the hull, a ...

), a foiling monohull class developed and used for the first time for the 36th America's Cup shall remain the class of yacht for the 37th America's Cup. Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron also intend that the AC75 class should be used for the 38th America's Cup, and say that agreement to this will be a condition of entry for any other complying clubs wishing to enter any challenger series for the 37th America's Cup. For the first two preliminary regattas as well as the Youth & Women's Americas Cup the AC75 derived AC40 one design class is used. Additionally, the competing teams are allowed to develop 40-foot test boats called LEQ12.

Nationality Rules

It has been agreed a new crew nationality rule will require 100% of race crews to either be a passport holder of the country the team's yacht club as of 19 March 2021 or to have been physically present in that country (or, acting on behalf of such a yacht club in Auckland, the venue of the 36th America's Cup Events) for two of the previous three years prior to 18 March 2021. There will be a discretionary provision allowing a quota of non-nationals on the race crew for competitors from "emerging nations", although this term and the size of the quota is yet to be defined.

Cost Reduction Programme

To reduce costs, it has been agreed teams will be restricted to building only one new

for the 37th America's Cup. In addition, Royal Yacht Squadron Racing Ltd and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron have committed to "investigating and agreeing a meaningful package of campaign cost reduction measures including measures to attract a higher number of challengers and to assist with the establishment of new teams".

Venue

Royal Yacht Squadron and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron planned to announce the venue for the 37th America's Cup by 19 September 2021. New Zealand Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...

said her Government wanted to see the cup defended in Auckland in 2023, and announced the availability of Government funding to assist Team New Zealand to stay together, subject to a number of conditions, including an expectation the Cup will be defended in New Zealand. However, on 29 March 2022,

was announced as the host of the 2024 America's Cup. Barcelona's bid saw an unprecedented alliance across public and private entities working together to attract the America's Cup to Barcelona which included the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, City Hall of Barcelona, Port of Barcelona, Barcelona Global's investment agency and Barcelona & Partners. Of the previous 36 cup matches, 33 have been held in the defender's home waters. The

Deed of Gift A deed of gift is a signed legal document that voluntarily and without recompense transfers ownership of real, personal, or intellectual propertysuch as a gift of materialsfrom one person or institution to another. It should include any possibl ...

provides for the defender to name the venue if they and the Challenger of Record cannot reach agreement.

Dates

The 37th America's Cup will be raced in Barcelona as a first-to-seven-wins series from 12 October 2024. It is expected to be completed on or before 21 October 2024. This complies with the deed which requires the match to be held in summer or summer-shoulder months. In the southern hemisphere, this is defined as between 1 November and 30 April. In the northern hemisphere, it is defined as between 1 May and 31 October.

Event management

Royal Yacht Squadron and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron announced the establishment of a single Event Authority responsible for the conduct of all racing and the management of commercial activities relating to the 37th America's Cup. Therefore, 'ACE (America's Cup Event) Barcelona S.L.' was created as the sole Event Authority for the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona and is exclusively responsible for the planning, management and delivery of a successful event.

Teams

The

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

is the Challenger of Record for the 37th America's Cup. Their team, INEOS Britannia, previously lost to

in the 2017 Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals, and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the

2021 Prada Cup The 2021 Prada Cup was a sailing competition held to determine the challenger in the 2021 America's Cup who would challenge Emirates Team New Zealand. The races were held from January 15 to February 21, 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand and were prec ...

final. The Royal Yacht Squadron's challenge will be the first time a British team has competed in three consecutive America's Cup cycles since 1930.

, represented by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, have indicated their interest in returning for the 37th America's Cup. Luna Rossa previously lost to Emirates Team New Zealand in the

2021 America's Cup The 2021 America's Cup in March 2021 was the 36th staging of the America's Cup yacht race. It was contested on the inner Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, New Zealand, between the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Circolo della Vela Sicilia of Italy ...

final. In a statement, the team said that they looked "forward to returning to racing on the

s in the next edition of the America's Cup". The

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

(NYYC) had indicated interest in returning for the 37th America's Cup. American Magic previously lost to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the 2021 Prada Cup semi-final. The NYYC submitted a challenge to the

on 6 May 2021, alongside an Evolutionary Draft Protocol for the 37th America's Cup. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron released a statement in response, where they said they were "delighted to hear that the New York Yacht Club" were interested, but questioned, "their motives for such a presumptuous statement when entries id notopen for some time." The Royal Yacht Squadron and Ineos Team UK also released a statement in response to the New York Yacht Club's challenge, stating that they were "working collaboratively with the Royal Yacht Squadron and Team New Zealand". The NYYC had dropped

American Magic American Magic is an American yacht racing team formed to compete for the 36th America's Cup. They represent the New York Yacht Club and were formed in 2018 by principals Hap Fauth, Roger Penske, and Doug DeVos. American Magic was eliminated fro ...

and announced a tentative partnership with Stars & Stripes, then announced they would no longer pursue the 37th Americas Cup, and then on 7 January opted back in with American Magic. In December 2021

Alinghi Alinghi, or Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of the sports marketing branding by Red Bull, is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well ...

founder

Ernesto Bertarelli Ernesto Silvio Maurizio Bertarelli (born 22 September 1965) is an Italian-born Swiss billionaire businessman and philanthropist. The 2017 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List estimated the family's wealth at £11.5 billion, an increase of £1 ...

and two-time Olympic champion Hans-Peter Steinacher announced the launch of the new Alinghi Red Bull Racing challenge. Bertarelli will continue to represent the

Société Nautique de Genève The Société Nautique de Genève is a yacht club based in Geneva (Switzerland). It was founded in 1872 with the goal of developing nautical sports and high level sailors. Currently the club has about 3000 members. The club held the America's Cup ...

, the yacht club that won the

2003 Louis Vuitton Cup The 6th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2003. The winner, Alinghi, went on to challenge for and win the 2003 America's Cup. Teams The Yacht Club Punta Ala was the challenger of record. Alinghi Founded by Swiss business ...

, the

2003 America's Cup The 31st America's Cup was contested between the holder, Team New Zealand, and the winner of the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, Alinghi. Build Up The 2002–2003 Louis Vuitton Cup, held in the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, New Zealand saw nine teams from ...

, and the

2007 America's Cup The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and '' Match Race'' in the sport of sailing. As per the Deed of Gift ...

. On 3 January 2023, the organisers of the 37th America's Cup announced that

K-Challenge Racing Orient Express Racing Team is a French yacht racing team that competes in International America's Cup Class races. The team has formally competed as K-Challenge, Areva Challenge (between 2005 and 2007) and ALL4ONE Challenge. History As Areva Cha ...

would challenge for the 37th America's Cup, after previously challenging for the

32nd America's Cup The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and ''Match Race'' in the sport of sailing. As per the Deed of Gift of ...

in 2007. Led by Stephane Kandler and Bruno Dubois, the team, named Orient Express Team, will represent the

Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

Preliminary Regattas

The first two preliminary regattas have been raced in AC40 one design yachts. The third preliminary regatta in Barcelona will see the new AC75 yachts, that will also compete in the challenger series and the America's cup.

Round 1 – Vilanova i la Geltrú

Round 2 – Jeddah

Round 3 – Barcelona

Unlike the first rounds which were

fleet race Fleet racing is a form of competitive sailing that involves sailboats racing one another over a set course. It is the most common form of sailboat racing and contrasts with match racing and team racing. Fleet racing can take place in two main fo ...

s, the third is held in

match racing A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailing, sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet racing, fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team rac ...

format – of 15 races plus a final. The detailed race results for round three, Barcelona, are as follows:

Qualifying Event

The 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup is the competition to determine the official challenger for the 2024 America's Cup was held between August – October 2024 in Barcelona. The format was a

double round-robin A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...

of all five challengers plus the defender Team New Zealand (who does not score points), followed by semi-finals of four highest ranked challengers in best of 9 match race series, the winners of which then compete in a best of 13 match race series.

Cup Match

The America's Cup match was a best of 13 race series held October 2024 between ''Taihoro'', owned and sailed by the Emirates Team New Zealand syndicate representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, and INEOS Britannia, the winner of the qualifying event – the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup. Two races per day were held, starting from 12 October, with reserve days scheduled on 14–15 Oct, 17 and 22–27. Notes:

Youth & Women's Americas Cup

PUIG Women's Americas Cup

In October 2024, Giulia Conti became the first Women's America's Cup Champion, winning the 1st PUIG Women's America Cup in Barcelona as Captain of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team representing

Background

Alongside the protocol for the 37th Americas Cup, a

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

Women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

's event was announced to be held in the AC40 class racing in Barcelona alongside the Americas Cup. The youth event is open to sailors under 25 years of age, with two male and two female sailors on each boat, while the women's event is open to any female sailors.

History

Terms of Challenge

Background

Rules for issuing a Challenge

Terms of RYS Challenge

Yacht class

Nationality Rules

Cost Reduction Programme

Venue

Dates

Event management

Teams

Preliminary Regattas

Round 1 – Vilanova i la Geltrú

Round 2 – Jeddah

Round 3 – Barcelona

Qualifying Event

Cup Match

Youth & Women's Americas Cup

PUIG Women's Americas Cup

Background

Teams

References

External links