SailGP and the America’s Cup could be on course for a scheduling collision with top sailors having to choose between the events.
As SailGP looks to run over a calendar year and the America’s Cup moves to two-year cycles, questions loom over whether sailors will realistically be able to compete on both stages in future campaigns.
In 2026, SailGP have 13 regattas scheduled, with March, October and December the only months without an event week.
There will also be up to three preliminary America’s Cup regattas on the agenda, the first of which will be held in Cagliari on the Italian island of Sardinia from May 21-24 – sandwiched between SailGP events in Bermuda (May 10-11) and New York (May 31-June 1).
As it stands, there have been limited crew announcements among the America’s Cup teams. However, there was plenty of crossover in the 37th edition and it is expected there will be again.
It’s certainly the case for Emirates Team New Zealand, with skipper Nathan Outteridge, Chris Draper, Andy Maloney and Sam Meech involved with Artemis Sweden, Blair Tuke in the Black Foils, and Iain Jensen with the Australian team.
The benefits of competing in both events are regularly stated by the athletes, as they can maximise their time on water in elite-level competition as well as get involved in the technology and development side of things.
For British helmsman Dylan Fletcher, the only publicly confirmed crew member for Cup challenger GB1, there is hope that the two competitions can work so athletes can continue to take part in both beyond the 2027 Cup regatta.
“I would like to say they can co-exist, for me personally. I think they’re both amazing and both have their own unique parts and I think that having the names in both is quite important. I guess it’s something out of my control, but I really do hope,” Fletcher told the Herald.
“I’m sure one day that might not be the case, but at the moment, I think for anyone doing both, we’re going to be pretty busy.”
Fletcher, who led Emirates Great Britain to the SailGP season championship in 2025, is a prime example of an athlete with the busy schedule required of the more involved sailors.
After the Auckland SailGP regatta on February 14-15, where the British finished second to Australia, Fletcher was heading back to the United Kingdom for some quick work on the Cup challenger, before returning back Down Under for the Sydney SailGP regatta this week.
“We’re certainly going to be busy, but I think that’s ultimately the life of a professional sports person, isn’t it? It’s kind of our job to go and try and perform and do our best,” Fletcher said.
“I know a lot of people are staying out and sort of holidaying [between SailGP events] but I want to get back.
“I want to keep helping the design team and keep pushing on effectively. I think that it’s tricky to manage but it’s all part of it basically.
“Just bouncing between doing the two, trying to manage time, energy and yeah, just as ever with the Cup it never stops, you’re always trying to make the boat go faster, right?”
It was a point raised by Terry Hutchinson, American Magic president of sailing operations, in the build-up to Auckland’s SailGP regatta.
After competing in Auckland and Barcelona, American Magic chose not to enter an America’s Cup challenge for the 2027 edition in Naples. They have since announced a partnership with SailGP, with their facility in Pensacola, Florida, to double as a training base for the global foiling league.
Earlier this month, the Americans also confirmed their purchase of Denmark’s Rockwool Racing SailGP team. While the Danish outfit had very little America’s Cup crossover, Hutchinson was clear in his expectations around the crew’s focus moving forward when asked about whether or not sailors could do both in the future.
“When you look at the calendar, even though the weekends are short and sharp and we basically have three days of sailing coming across, the number of events we have, when we put travel in and you start contemplating getting around the world to do these events, it’s about 100 days,” Hutchinson said.
“So it’s very consuming of the schedule. Like anything, I think to have success on the water we need to be singularly focused and SailGP is our singular focus for our sailors and our athletes to do it properly.
“It’s striking a balance, but the more competitive we see this league, the more attention and focus is going to be required.
“Certainly our expectation is to work our way towards the top and what we’re requiring our sailors to do is to make this their primary focus and their primary discipline, so we can be successful on the water, because that’s required.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.