Program in place for America’s Cup test

With COVID-19 cancelling the America’s Cup 2020 test events in Italy and England, it will be in less than three weeks when the four international teams from New Zealand, Italy, United States, and Great Britain finally line up for the first time.

However, this time it will be in their second generation of flying AC75s when they hit the water for the PRADA America’s Cup World Series Auckland and the PRADA Christmas Race (December 17-20).

The event will see current America’s Cup Defender Emirates Team New Zealand, the Challenger of Record Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team, INEOS TEAM UK, and New York Yacht Club American Magic facing each other during four days of match racing on the Waitemata Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf widely regarded as ‘The jewel in Auckland’s crown’.

The first race will start few minutes after 3pm on December 17 and will see Emirates Team New Zealand against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team. The second pairing will be American Magic versus INEOS TEAM UK.

With each of the teams interpreting the AC75 design rule differently there are marked differences between all four boats launched so far and therefore great anticipation to see them race for the first time.

The racing format for the four days of racing has now been finalized. For the first three days of the PRADA ACWS Auckland (17th-19th of December), there will be four races per day of Round Robin competition when all of the four teams will race each other twice.

The fourth day (20th of December) the PRADA Christmas Race will kick off and will be comprised of two knock out stages, the first stage consists of two head to head match ups, the winners of each will progress to the final, the losers to a 3rd & 4th match which will help decide the final rankings. The pairing of the Christmas Race Semifinals will be decided by the results of the PRADA ACWS Auckland double Round Robin.

The races will be held on a windward-leeward racecourse with an upwind start and last around 25-30 minutes each.

Racing is scheduled for 1500 – 1800 each day weather permitting. The race course will be communicated on racing days by the Race Management depending on wind direction, intensity and tides. The permitted wind range is between 6.5 and 21 knots.

For the Challenger teams, the results from the ACWS and the Christmas Race regatta will determine the pairings for the PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series to be held in January/February 2021 that will decide which of them will take on Emirates Team New Zealand in the Match for the 36th America’s Cup presented by PRADA starting on March 6th 2021.

How to watch:

Watch On TV: The four days of race will be transmitted live on TV. To ensure both the most accessible and most complete live and highlights coverage from broadcasters in well over 120 territories, the 36th America’s Cup has partnered with free-to-air and pay networks. A second wave of partnerships will be announced before racing starts this December. – Details

Watch ONLINE: Every matches and racing of the PRADA ACWS Auckland and PRADA Christmas Race will be streamed live on Youtube, Facebook, and americascup.com in almost every country around the world. The event official website will provide all the live contents including on board camera footage, Virtual Eye graphics, behind-the-scenes storytelling, and more. The fans will be able to follow the action in real time on their computer, mobile or tablet without the need to download an app.

Details: www.americascup.com

36th America’s Cup
In addition to Challenges from Italy, USA, and Great Britain that were accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), eight additional Notices of Challenge were received by the late entry deadline on November 30, 2018. Of those eight submittals, entries from Malta, USA, and the Netherlands were also accepted. Here’s the list:

Defender:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)

Challengers:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger of Record
• American Magic (USA)
• INEOS Team UK (GBR)
• Malta Altus Challenge (MLT) – WITHDRAWN
• Stars + Stripes Team USA (USA) – STATUS UNCONFIRMED
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAWN

Of the three late entries, only Stars+Stripes USA remains committed, however, it is unclear what entry payments have been made, nor is there knowledge of a boat being actively built or sailing team assembled.

Key America’s Cup dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th America’s Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: Entries for Challengers open
✔ March 31, 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for Challengers close
✔ August 31, 2018: Location of the America’s Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Late entries deadline
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x America’s Cup World Series events (CANCELLED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US$1million late entry fee deadline (NOT KNOWN)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (CANCELLED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: Second (2/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (CANCELLED)
• December 17-20, 2020: Third (3/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
• January 15-February 22, 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
• March 6-15, 2021: The America’s Cup Match

Youth America’s Cup Competition (CANCELLED)
• February 18-23, 2021
• March 1-5, 2021
• March 8-12, 2021

AC75 launch dates:
September 6, 2019 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 1
September 10, 2019 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; actual launch date earlier but not released
October 2, 2019 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4, 2019 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1
October 16, 2020 – American Magic (USA), Boat 2
October 17, 2020 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 2
October 20, 2020 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 2
November 19, 2020 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 2

Details: www.americascup.com