Will seismic shift kill the America’s Cup?

As Challenger of Record, Britain’s Ben Ainslie is remaking the America’s Cup. “It’s the last great sporting event that hasn’t been properly commercialized, and that’s the huge seismic shift that we’re making,” said Ainslie.

But are the changes removing what has made the America’s Cup relevant since 1870? Peter Wormwood thinks so:

In the past, a big part of the interest in the America’s Cup for followers was to see the latest thinking in hull shapes, rigs, technology, and elite crews working as a tight knit team to get the boats around the course.

In this latest iteration, foil shape has replaced hull shape as the defining factor, but it’s pretty much impossible for viewers to discern any differences. If the hulls touch the water, it means that the boat just got so slow so fast relative to its competitor that the race is no longer interesting.

Now, any lingering interest in hull shapes has been killed by using the same hulls as the last Cup. Both the crews and technology have now been hidden inside the hulls, so there’s nothing interesting for the viewers to engage with on those fronts. From a viewer’s perspective on the shore or through a video lens, the competition looks little different than watching model boats race, other than they’re going faster.

Since viewers aren’t being engaged, commercial sponsors aren’t likely to be engaged either. So the circle of interest seems to have been reduced to the sailors (fewer now than ever), the design and build teams, and the billionaire owners.

Meanwhile, SailGP is stealing racing interest by providing viewers with much closer racing at the same high speed, multiple times each year, rather than once every few years. IMOCA and the Ultim trimarans are covering the technology advancement bases with boats than can excel on courses both inshore and offshore.

So, yeah – the current America’s Cup administrators probably do need to get their heads out of their self-imposed bubble and realize that they are not only the only game in town, they’re not even the most interesting.

Details: https://www.americascup.com/

Defender New Zealand and Challenger of Record from Great Britain confirmed the Protocol for the 38th America’s Cup on August 12, 2025. No additional challenge entries have yet been revealed, while American Magic will not compete.

The close of the initial entry period was October 31, 2025, with late entries considered up to January 31, 2026. If no USA team participates in the 38th America’s Cup, it will be the first time in the event’s 175-year history.

After the 2024 event, Barcelona, Spain declined hosting another edition, with the venue moved to Naples, Italy . Racing will be in the spring and summer of 2027.