It’s been quite the 24 hours in MIN‘s inbox as Athena Racing, American Magic and Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) engage in a ‘he said / she said’ about the next edition of the America’s Cup. There’s been accusations of ‘unreasonable allegations’, ‘lack of transparency’, ‘premature announcements’ and NDAs remaining unsigned.

And when all the statements are unpicked? It looks like the challengers want more changes to the protocol, the protocol should have been agreed by all, and only then should the host city have been announced. But no ones officially mentions the specifics underneath the wide-ranging word ‘transparency’.

First off the block, Athena Racing, part of Brit Sir Ben Ainslie’s empire, disseminated a statement (22 May) to raise the issue of whether a fair sporting protocol is being negotiated for the 38th America’s Cup. The statement accuses both Team New Zealand (TNZ) and the government of Italy of lacking transparency when it comes to the agreement to use Naples as the host venue. And, making premature announcements.

Swiftly following Athena’s statement, American Magic weighed in, saying it’s found itself at a ‘crossroads’. The US-based team is urging the defender — Team New Zealand — “to work in good faith with the Challenger of Record [Athena Racing] to restore the elements of fair competition, transparency, and respect for all sailors, globally, who are ultimately the beneficiaries of this time-honoured trust.”

And then, of course, came the rebuttal from TNZ. It says it has been ‘working closely and positively with all teams on moving the America’s Cup to a new collaborative partnership and structure’ and goes on to talk around strengthening the future of the cup for the benefit of the event and ‘all current and future teams’.

Disagreement about transparency of Naples as host venue
Athena Racing says it’s been in negotiations on a protocol for the 38th America’s Cup with the defender on behalf of all the challengers for the last seven months (its full statement is online). Athena says it’s aiming to deliver a fair sporting framework and commercially viable event for all America’s Cup stakeholders.

But, the Athena statement says: “Despite recent progress being made, significant barriers remain.”

It adds: “Typically, a host agreement has only followed the publication of an agreed protocol. In the absence of an agreed protocol, it is therefore difficult to understand what exactly has been agreed between Team New Zealand and the government of Italy as the sporting framework and details of the event do not yet exist.

“Any hosting agreement will bind challengers to financial and organisational obligations, as well as potential liabilities, making its disclosure fundamental to teams’ participation and commitment to the 38th America’s Cup.”

Athena Racing alludes to its concerns
Athena Racing – part of the Athena Sports Group (Ainslie is the founder and CEO) which includes the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team and the Athena Pathway development programme) – says its “concerned by the ongoing lack of transparency around the recent announcement of a host city for the cup in 2027 and the impact this is having on the main goal of negotiating a fair sporting protocol.

“While we have every confidence that Naples can be a magnificent host for the America’s Cup, we believe that transparency and cooperation between the defender and all challengers is vital for the cup’s future and therefore the recent announcements from the defender are premature, at best.”

These sentiments echo what was said previously by Red Bull, which withdrew from the cup earlier this year.

“Despite all our efforts, we — Alinghi Red Bull Racing — have not been able to find agreement with the defender of the America’s Cup for the future of the event,” its statement read in late April. “We would like to have seen more accountability, greater transparency and new opportunities to perform not only individually but as a group. That way we might all of us together could have delivered a commercially viable event capable of attracting global TV coverage, spectators, and sponsors.”

Naples
View of Naples, venue for 38th America’s Cup
Protocol delay due to multi-team input
TNZ says it’s been working in conjunction with all teams on the development of the protocol for the past few months. It calls this working together ‘unprecedented’ (the full statement can be read online). TNZ says this has resulted in the current protocol incorporating many ideas and positions of the teams, but that: “As a result of the significant teams input the completion of the protocol has been prolonged.”

And, TNZ claims that Athena Racing didn’t give any feedback on the latest version of the protocol which was sent to it, ten days prior to the announcement of Naples as the host venue, “other than acknowledgement it had been well received by the teams.”

Because of the transparency debate, TNZ has now published the draft protocol online. It’s doing this to rebut “unreasonable allegations” and “as an illustration of complete transparency.” That dainty missive – circa 75 pages – is available to peruse online.

In the spirit of getting it all out there, TNZ has also had a pop about Athena Racing not signing NDAs.

Team New Zealand’s statement continues: “It is the responsibility of the defender and has been an obligation of an agreement with the Challenger of Record, to secure the host venue by June 19th 2025 so all teams have clarity on one of the most important foundations of any America’s Cup.

“Ahead of time, the teams now have that knowledge and understanding with the exciting announcement of Naples, Italy in 2027.

“In contrast to the statement by Athena Racing, all teams have already been offered full access and transparency to the Host Venue Agreement (HVA), which was signed just last week, upon their signing of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Such a requirement is standard practice in with any contract that contains commercial sensitivities.

“The defender is yet to receive the returned NDA’s from Athena Racing as Challenger of Record.”

Differences in — and questions about — protocol
Richard Gladwell has written an explainer in differences of protocol, from the last cup. In it, he highlights that much of the draft protocol that governed the 2024 America’s Cup in Barcelona had been rolled over.

“The biggest change is that the events Preliminary Events, Youth and Womens, Challenger Selection Series and the America’s Cup Match are to be run by a new group America’s Cup Partnership (ACP formed from the challenging teams and the defender). Previously all events were run by America’s Cup Events (ACE), the event arm of Emirates Team New Zealand. . . ACP is bound by the decision and actions already taken by ACE. . . The contentious aspect of ACP is that it will be responsible for the management of AC38 and future cycles of the America’s Cup.”

Gladwell says that there is no provision for inspection of the financial records of ACP or whether it will be subject to the overall control of a board. “Once a team is out of the next cup cycle, it’s assumed they would cease to be part of ACP, and don’t have any ongoing role in an event in which they are not racing. … This needs to be clarified in the protocol,” says Gladwell. “Neither is there mention of distribution of surplus revenues or cost over-run from the event management of the 38th America’s Cup, or who is liable for an over-run. The fate of any assets acquired by ACP are not disclosed.

“Many of the financial and transparency questions disappear if all teams have board representation — but this structure is not in the protocol.”

American Magic’s current position
American Magic believes that without the structural framework necessary for challengers to pursue viable campaigns, it will remain extremely difficult to unlock the America’s Cup’s potential as a modern, globally relevant sports property (read its full statement online).

“Despite the best efforts of the challengers – led by the Challenger of Record – to negotiate in good faith, the defender has been unwilling to commit to the transparency and cooperation necessary to secure a fair protocol.”

The organisation continues: “We continue to support the Challenger of Record in their efforts to secure an open and balanced protocol, as without the meaningful changes they are advocating, it is difficult to see how NYYC American Magic can participate in the 38th America’s Cup.

“While we remain committed to the America’s Cup and would welcome the opportunity to compete under a fair protocol, we are equally committed to integrity, transparency, and the long-term health of the institution that is the America’s Cup. We urge the defender, as trustee, to work in good faith with the Challenger of Record to restore the elements of fair competition, transparency, and respect for all sailors, globally, who are ultimately the beneficiaries of this time-honoured trust.”

American Magic’s AC75 boat, Patriot, is training on Pensacola Bay for The 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona 2024. Credit American Magic
Naples chosen in rapid venue selection
When the organisers of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup confirmed that the Italian city of Naples will be the host venue for the competition in 2027, the announcement was made in collaboration with Team New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton confirmed that Naples was selected following a rapid venue selection process.

“I couldn’t be more excited to announce Naples, Italy as the host venue of the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup,” he said at the time. “Italians are the most passionate and engaged America’s Cup audience, and obviously it is the home of Luna Rossa … it certainly feels like we are entering the lion’s den competitively, but from an event perspective it feels like the perfect venue to host the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup.”

Source: MarineIndustryNews.co.uk