After accusations of a lack of transparency by challenger of record Athena Racing and fellow challenger American Magic, Emirates Team New Zealand have responded by releasing the latest draft of the protocol for the next regatta.
Responding with a statement of their own, Team New Zealand said the challengers made “unreasonable allegations” and “as an illustration of complete transparency” they made the draft protocol publicly available.
“In an unprecedented move, the defender, in conjunction with the challenger of record, has been working with all teams on the development of the protocol for the 38th America’s Cup over the past few months. This has resulted in the current protocol incorporating many ideas and positions of the teams. As a result of the significant teams’ input, the completion of the protocol has been prolonged.
“The latest version of the protocol went back to the challenger of record, Athena Racing, 10 days ago, prior to the announcement of Naples. The defender has not had any feedback back from the challenger of record on the latest version other than acknowledgement it had been well received by the teams.”
Sir Ben Ainslie and Grant Dalton ahead of the America's Cup match in Barcelona. Photo / Photosport
Athena Racing, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, accused their rivals of a “concerning lack of transparency” and warned there were still “significant barriers” to overcome as they worked towards a “fair sporting protocol” for the event.
The British team said that without the protocol being locked in, any confirmation of Naples at the host venue was “premature, at best”.
In part of a foundational agreement with the challenger of record, Team NZ said the venue was due to be confirmed before June 20 (NZT) to give challengers clarity around one of the most important parts of the regatta.
The host venue was locked in and confirmed more than a month before the deadline.
“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 with any contract that contains commercial sensitivities.
“The defender is yet to receive the returned NDAs from Athena Racing as challenger of record.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
