In the America's Cup, with the exception of court-ordered exclusive matches, if there was more than one challenger, it was always the case that the challengers initially decided among themselves who would ultimately be allowed to claim the defender. But that has changed. Now Oracle Team USA is already involved in the qualifying round as the defender and, if it wins, can even earn a bonus point for the America's Cup match. How did this happen?
The changed rules are based on the introduction of the one-boat rule. For cost reasons, each team is only allowed to build one new AC50 catamaran in the 34th America's Cup cycle. Because the rule also applies to the defenders themselves, they are deprived of the previous opportunities for in-house testing and training with two new builds. To compensate for this shortcoming, the defender is allowed to mingle with the challengers in the qualifying round (in which the British team Land Rover BAR enters with two bonus points from the World Series and the defenders with one bonus point) and compete with them. And benefits from this in at least three ways: in the two qualifying duels with each other team, the defender can study the challengers intensively. In addition, the defender has the opportunity, at least in theory, to influence the results of the challengers, who are fighting for four places in the Challenger Playoffs in the qualifying round with five teams (Land Rover BAR, Artemis Racing, Groupama Team France, Emirates Team New Zealand, SoftBank Team Japan). And then there is the possible bonus point, which a challenger can also win if it wins the qualifying round and is actually the team that is later allowed to challenge the defenders.
More time for the defenders
For the majority of the challengers, the unusual arrangement has not been a problem so far. For their part, they have the chance to study the defenders and their only boat in the duels. However, a further imbalance arises from the fact that the defenders have a 13-day break after the qualifying round until the 34th match for the America's Cup, while the top four challengers continue to fight for the right to challenge the defenders in the Challenger Playoffs. They will only have two days off during the Challenger Playoffs (semi-final, final) and four days off afterwards before the Cup clash begins on 17 June.
The defenders point out that the challengers can improve from race to race, while they are left to their own devices without a race. What will actually be more effective in the end remains to be seen. What is exciting is the fact that after the qualifying round (from 26 May) with a total of 15 races (two round-robin rounds, each team meets every other team twice), the best challenger can choose its own semi-final opponent for the Challenger Playoffs (from 4 to 12 June). The two remaining teams automatically form the second semi-final pairing in the Challenger Playoffs. The worst challenger is eliminated after the qualifying round. The final of the Challenger Playoffs is won by the team that reaches five points first.
The 34th America's Cup match, presented by Louis Vuitton, begins on 17 June and will be played in a best-of-13 format. The first team to collect seven victory points will win the America's Cup. The bonus point from the qualifying round counts as a victory point. The official challenger and defender will have a short break from 19 to 21 June. This is when the final races of the J-Class Regatta and the Red Bull Youth America's Cup will take place. The Cup match will continue on 24 June and end on 27 June at the latest.
Here for the detailed regatta schedule for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifier, the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Challenger Playoffs and the America's Cup Match presented by Louis Vuitton.
The big Cup guide: In the America's Cup special in YACHT 12/2017 you will find all the information and background to the sailing event of the year. From 24 May at the kiosk or digital here.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
