America's Cup: Defenders respond to allegations - Kiwis present draft protocol
Tatjana Pokorny
· 23.05.2025
The previous day's proceedings were unusual. Both the Challenger of Record Athena Racing and the US team NYYC American Magic had accused the New Zealand defenders on their course for the 38th America's Cup in public statements on 22 May of a lack of banners and a lack of willingness to cooperate. The statements were published within an hour in the European afternoon. Click here for the news.
38th America's Cup: unfounded accusations?
The accusations of the challengers had caught the defenders in New Zealand at night. However, the Kiwis have now responded - with maximum transparency. In its own statement, Team New Zealand declared that the challengers had made "unfounded allegations". As a "sign of complete transparency", the defenders have published the latest draft protocol in full with their public response.
Under the title "Statement from Emirates Team New Zealand in response to Athena Racing and American Magic" the defence lawyers' statement continues:
"The Defender has worked closely and positively with all teams to transition the America's Cup into a new partnership structure to strengthen the future of the America's Cup for the benefit of the event and all current and future teams."
Kiwis demonstrate "complete transparency"
An explanation of the proceedings from a New Zealand perspective follows in the statement by the defence lawyers under the heading "Protocol":
"In an unprecedented effort, the Defender, in collaboration with the Challenger of Record, has worked with all teams over the last few months to develop the protocol for the 38th America's Cup. The result is the current protocol, which incorporates many of the teams' ideas and positions. Due to the extensive input from the teams, the finalisation of the protocol has been delayed.
The latest version of the protocol was sent back to the Challenger of Record Athena Racing 10 days ago, prior to the Naples announcement. The Defender has not received any feedback from the Challenger of Record on the latest version, other than confirmation that it has been well received by the teams.
However, due to the unfounded allegations made against him by Athena Racing and American Magic, the defender now feels it is appropriate to publish the current draft protocol for the 38th America's Cup today to show complete transparency."
Signed non-disclosure agreement missing
In an additional passage, the defence lawyers explain "Agreement between the venue and the organiser":
"It is the responsibility of the defender and is mandatory under an agreement with the Challenger of Record to secure a venue by 19 June 2025 so that all teams have clarity on one of the key foundations of the America's Cup.
Thanks to the exciting announcement of Naples, Italy, for 2027, teams now have this information in advance and can plan accordingly.
Contrary to Athena Racing's statement, all teams have already been granted unrestricted access and transparency to the venue agreement (HVA) following the signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which was signed just last week. Such a requirement is common for contracts involving sensitive commercial information. Defence counsel has not yet received the returned NDA from Athena Racing as Challenger of Record."
Tug-of-war over class and nationality rules
The latest published version of the protocol is a 70-page draft including annexes and explanations. The protocol provides an overview of the most important content and key data for the 38th America's Cup. It deals with the planned events, including the Youth and Women's America's Cup, which will once again be held on AC40 yachts. It deals with entry fees, cost sharing, crew strengths, class and nation rules, commercial rights and many other small and large points.
The draft protocol that has now been published contains two passages marked in yellow by the New Zealand defenders. One concerns the AC75 class rule under point 22.1. Paragraph d deals with the future crew strength, at least one "young" sailor under the age of 25 and at least one woman without age restriction. Paragraph d deals with an obviously controversial classic: the generation of power on board. The defenders note here that they have integrated these points as feedback to the Challenger of Record, but have not yet agreed to them themselves.
A second yellow marker is the nationality rule. This is a classic point of contention in negotiations between the New Zealanders, who are usually strong and well-positioned at home, and the challengers, some of whom are more reliant on international reinforcements. Here the New Zealanders have noted that they are still waiting for a response from the Challenger of Record. For the Youth and Women's America's Cup, the 100 per cent nationality rule will once again apply.
Can the defender and challenger reach an agreement?
The struggle between the defenders on the one hand and the Challenger of Record as the negotiating partner and representative of all challengers on the other will continue. Whether, when and how an agreement can be reached remains to be seen.
In its 174-year history, the America's Cup has experienced turbulent times at the negotiating tables on land and on the water. Here are the "most intense America's Cup moments":
