37th America’s Cup begins: Who is Team NZ up against, and why is it in Barcelona? – The Front Page

Skipper Peter Burling (front left) and foil controller Blair Tuke (front right) with the Auld Mug after Team New Zealand's win in 2021. Photo / Photosport

The first stage of the 37th America’s Cup is about to begin.

In the world’s longest continuously running sporting competition, Team New Zealand will be looking to defend their title in October. Their challenger is due to be decided over the coming weeks, as the Louis Vuitton Cup gets under way today in Barcelona.

But amongst all the intrigue about which team will come out on top, there’s a lot of background as to why this is all happening on the other side of the world, rather than in our backyard.

As NZ Herald sports reporter Christopher Reive tells The Front Page today, the six America’s Cup teams will take to the water in their new AC75 race vessels for the third and final preliminary regatta.

“This will be the second generation of those boats. So those were the ones that got brought in for the regatta in Auckland,” Reive says.

“It probably wasn’t the best sailing you could see on those boats. The weather wasn’t ideal to get them up and foiling as much as they probably would have liked.

“So, I’m hoping for that this time around in the second generation. They’ve made changes to the number of crew on board... they’ve got eight this time around, rather than 11, and the boat is going to be a little bit lighter.”

Reive says the conditions in Barcelona will be a world apart from those seen in Auckland.

“It’s got me quite intrigued that they’ve taken it to Barcelona because where they’re going to be sailing is a lot bumpier than you get out in Auckland. We saw out in Auckland, they’d try and find the flattest, most calm sea that they could sail on.

“Out in Barcelona, they don’t really get that choice. They have one racecourse and basically, they have to deal with the sea state out there,” he says.

Team New Zealand are defending the America’s Cup once again, but for the first time, they won’t be defending it in New Zealand.

“Grant Dalton [Team New Zealand CEO] has always been very clear on the number that he believed was needed to run a successful campaign. He wants to put the team in the best position to win rather than do an underfunded one and they lose at home,” Reive says.

“He’s always been very clear on the number and he didn’t believe that the number on the table from New Zealand was going to be enough. Barcelona came with a little bit more.

“They’ve got the infrastructure there and he said in an interview that moving it to Barcelona was worth about $20 million to their campaign. In the end, I can see why he’s done it. I can also see why local fans were unhappy at the time and some probably still are.”

America’s Cup key dates

Barcelona preliminary regatta: August 23-26

Louis Vuitton Cup round robins: August 30-September 9

Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals: September 15-20

Youth America’s Cup: September 18-27

Louis Vuitton Cup finals: September 27-October 6

Puig Women’s America’s Cup: October 6-14

Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup match: October 13-22

America’s Cup challengers

Ineos Britannia (UK – Challenger of Record)

Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland)

Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli (Italy)

New York Yacht Club American Magic (USA)

Orient Express Racing Team (France)

Listen to the full episode to hear more about what to expect for the America’s Cup 2024.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.

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