Cup Qualifier shift to Bermuda announced at Competitors Meeting

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com NZL on 18 Apr 2015 In a statement published on the America's Cup website it is reported that the America’s Cup competitors have agreed the format for racing in 2017 with all racing taking place on the waters of the Great Sound in Bermuda, the home of the 2017 America’s Cup.

“At our Competitor Forum meeting this week, the teams agreed on the details of our race program in 2017,” said Commercial Commissioner Harvey Schiller.

All teams will compete in a double round robin format for the America’s Cup Qualifiers, which will be sailed in the new America’s Cup Class foiling catamaran.

The top four challengers from the Qualifiers will advance to the Challenger Playoffs that consist of a match racing semi-final and finals. The winner of the Playoffs will meet the defending champion, Oracle Team USA, in the America’s Cup Match.

Racing will take place in June, 2017. A detailed race calendar will be determined by the Commercial Commissioner in consultation with the competitors and Regatta Director and published in due course', the statement concluded.

Not mentioned was how America's Cup Events Authority, the commercial and marketing arm of Defender Golden Gate Yacht Club could overturn their previously published decision on February 15, 2015 that the Qualifier phase of the Regatta would be held in Auckland, New Zealand. The Protocol in force at that time required that the Qualifier Venue decision would be published by February 15, 2015.

Luna Rossa out: It would appear that the four-time America's Cup Challenger Luna Rossa (ITA) is definitely out of the 35th America's Cup, confirmed by skipper Chris Draper on his Facebook page.

'I have spent the last 18 months working with an amazing group of people. We had everything in place that we needed as a team, great spirit and were loving working our asses off to be that winning team.

'Today we had 100% confirmation that Luna Rossa will not challenge for AC35.

'So sad for all my colleagues, it has been a good journey.

'Looking forward to finding the next challenge but for now, Forza Luna Rossa.'

Draper's comments have attracted a sympathetic response many from competitors in other teams.

There has been nothing further announced publicly from the Competitors Meeting in London, held on Wednesday.

The next hurdle for the teams will be the payment of a further $900,000 Entry Fee to go into the Regatta Officials Fund. After the final payment that Fund will stand at $11million, however the payment is expected to deferred in some way, as happened in the last America's Cup cycle to ease the cash flow issues for the commercially reliant teams such as Ben Ainslie Racing, Emirates Team NZ and Team France.

Arbitration Panel and ISAF: The Arbitration Panel does not yet appear to have been populated, with the Chairman to come from a list of over 300 Arbitrators maintained by the Court for Arbitration for Sport. The event will not use CAS as the primary adjudication body. However, its Arbitrators are free to contract their services as individuals.

Not clear is how the International Sailing Federation will interface with the America's Cup event. The World Body will have got itself even further offside with some of the personalities controlling the 35th America's Cup, with its decision earlier in the week to reject claims made against officials, and ISAF itself, in respect of the findings of the International Jury for the 34th America's Cup against members of Oracle Team USA over boat tampering in four regattas of the America's Cup World Series.

Once the Arbitration Panel is empaneled, it is expected to hear a claim by Emirates Team New Zealand against the second publication of a Qualifier Venue.

Asian Team: There has been no announcement regarding a new team from Asia, expected to be Japan. However any such team is expected to have mostly Western sailors with a single Japanese national in the now six-person crew to meet the minimum nationality requirement under the fourth edition of the Protocol governing the 35th America's Cup.

Organiser enthusiasm to attract an Asian entry is believed to be geared around their desire to attract an Asian TV audience. However the Bermuda venue does not sit well with Asian time zones, or any other Pacific country, and probably the biggest leverage would come from new America's Cup fans on the social media.

AC48: There are no further developments with the introduction of the new AC48 one design. The class rule allows a two month period for settling in and changes before being frozen and restricted in its ability to be changed.

There is no indication as to whether Emirates Team New Zealand would take that change of Boat to the Arbitration Panel. The twice America's Cup winner were the only team remaining in the regatta who supported the Luna Rossa position against changing the Boat to be sailed in the America's Cup some nine months after the Entry Period had closed. The major teams had committed substantial budget and design team effort to development of a foiling wingsailed catamaran to the more open AC62 Class Rule announced in June 2014.

The first competition in the 35th America's Cup cycle will take place in Portsmouth, England when the first of three regattas of three days duration will be held in the foiling one design AC45 class.