They worked behind closed doors for a long time to reach this agreement on the framework conditions for the next two editions of the Cup: The America's Cup should finally become more reliable and predictable. Today, the current America's Cup teams presented their ideas for reliable parameters for the 36th and 37th editions of the Cup in London. The aim is for the battle for the oldest and most important sailing trophy to be held more predictably and in quicker succession in future, to the benefit of athletes, fans and sponsors. The teams involved call their agreement a "win-win" model for the future for everyone involved. However, one team is not taking part in this beautiful game plan: Emirates Team New Zealand stayed away from the negotiations and also from today's announcement. This means that the agreement is only worth anything so far if the New Zealanders do not win the 35th America's Cup and possibly realise completely different ideas for the staging of the next edition of the Cup. Because one thing will never change according to the Cup's Deed of Gift: The winner of the America's Cup decides the rules next time.
The teams that are in favour of the agreement and have decided to sign it are concerned with consistency and predictability. All too often, legal disputes, differences of opinion about the rhythm of the tournament and other incidents have thrown the Cup into disarray, led to "miss-matches", sometimes even putting it on ice for years and robbing many teams of their chances of participating. This is how the second German Cup campaign "died" nine years ago. The Cup defender Oracle Team USA and the challengers Land Rover BAR (Great Britain), Team France (France), Team Artemis (Sweden) and SoftBank Team Japan (Japan) want this to change in future. One of the most important decisions: This year's 35th Cup duel in June will be followed by the two upcoming Cup editions in 2019 and 2021.
One of the architects of the agreement is former Formula 1 manager Martin Whitmarsh, who has used his decades of experience to champion the memorandum of understanding. Land Rover BAR's CEO said: "Today we can announce that we have reached a framework agreement for the next two America's Cup cycles, their protocols and class rules." Artemis racing team owner Torbjörn Törnqvist said: "This agreement is long overdue in competitive sailing. The boats and the races are extremely exciting to watch - whether you are a sailor yourself or not. This will strengthen the America's Cup as the leading Grand Prix in sailing." Approval also came from French Volvo Ocean Race winner Franck Cammas, who is leading a team into the America's Cup for the first time this cycle: "It is important for the teams to know what the America's Cup will look like in the future. That is now clear with this agreement. It's good for everyone, from a commercial point of view and for long-term planning."
There are many reasons why the New Zealanders are not in favour of the agreement. Firstly, they have been booted out as organisers of a regatta in the America's Cup World Series in the current cycle. Secondly, if they were to win, they would probably have other ideas about the future organisation of the Cup. Grant Dalton and his team are also known for their independence. In addition, there are fierce differences between Dalton and former Team New Zealand star Russell Coutts, who now pulls the strings in the organisation and staging of the America's Cup as CEO of the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA): Emirates Team New Zealnd is a declared opponent of the current Cup novelty, according to which the American defenders are already allowed to take part in the challenger round before they go straight into the Cup final and meet the winner of the challenger play-offs there later.
Even without the vote of the New Zealanders, Jimmy Spithill, skipper of the defenders, said optimistically: "I believe that this announcement will go down as one of the defining moments in the history of the America's Cup. It's great for fans, athletes and also from a commercial point of view. It's a win-win for everyone. It marks a big step forward - with the sky as the limit." Or the New Zealanders.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
