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The Teams
Six teams have so far taken up the challenge of racing for the next America’s Cup, the oldest trophy in international sport. The defending champion is ORACLE TEAM USA, which won the last event with a spectacular comeback over Emirates Team New Zealand, who return as a challenger, along with Artemis Racing (SWE), Ben Ainslie Racing (GBR), Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) and Team France. There are also two additional groups that have expressed serious interest to enter as challenger.
“Racing in Bermuda will be an incredible experience for the spectators, both on-site and for those watching the broadcast, and for the sailors, it’s going to be very challenging,” said ORACLE TEAM USA skipper, Jimmy Spithill. “I’ve raced there several times and the variety of conditions means you can never let your guard down. We’ll all need to be at the top of our game to have success and that’s how it should be.”
Red Bull Youth America’s Cup
The second edition of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup was also confirmed in New York. In the inaugural edition, over 40 national youth teams (aged 19-23) applied to enter the qualifying phase. The top ten teams raced on the America’s Cup course in the same AC45 catamarans the pros had used in the America’s Cup World Series.
The purpose of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup is to provide a pathway towards a career as a professional sailor in the America’s Cup. In that, it has already proved successful, after just one edition.
“Sailors on the winning team in the first event, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, are now valued members of Emirates Team New Zealand,” said Schiller. “That’s an impressive proof of concept.”
The second edition will be held in the same foiling AC45 to be used in the upcoming America’s Cup World Series.
America’s Cup World Series
All teams have been given an opportunity to host events in their home countries, with racing to be held in foiling AC45s. At least four events are expected in 2015, including:
Season opener – To be announced – June 5-7, 2015
Portsmouth, Great Britain – July 23-26, 2015
Gothenburg, Sweden – August 28-30, 2015
Hamilton, Bermuda – October 16-18, 2015
Four to six events are expected in 2016, including a summer regatta in the USA in Chicago. A stop in Portsmouth, UK has already been confirmed for July 2016.
2017 – the year of the America’s Cup
In 2017, all teams will compete in their new AC62 catamarans, powered by highly-efficient wingsails and designed to fly above the water on foils at speeds near 50 mph.
Racing begins for all teams (defender and challengers) in the America’s Cup Qualifiers, where the teams are seeded – with bonus points – according to their results in the America’s Cup World Series. The top challengers then go on to compete in the America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs and the right to race ORACLE TEAM USA in the America’s Cup Finals in June 2017.
The exact challenger format is not yet decided, but all teams will compete in Bermuda, and will be based in one location.
Defender – Where are they now?
Oracle Team USA has been moving out of their base at Pier 80 in San Francisco. They do plan to launch a test boat in San Francisco for training on the Bay in February, but have plans to move to Bermuda by April.
Watch the Full Replay – America’s Cup selects Bermuda as host venue (59min)
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Sailing With Devious, 2014 