New Zealand rejects protocol and defiance from the Americans

The Copa America defender rejected the surprise challenge presented by the New York Yachting Club on May 6 and announced the day. The trophy holders issued a statement two hours after launching the Challenge and Draft Protocol presented by the New York Yacht Club that successfully defended the Trophy from 1870 to 1983.

RNZYS and the New Zealand Emirates Airline team (as the current defender of the America’s Cup) welcome New York Yacht Club’s interest in the upcoming America’s Cup, but question their motives for such a rude statement when entries are not opened until some time has passed.

“There were some valid points raised by NYYC, some of which were already taken into account when developing a forward-looking protocol between Defender and Ineos Team UK and RYS (such as Challenger of Record for the 37th America’s Cup), which are the two parties responsible for developing the following protocol,” he concludes. Statement.

The protocol introduced by the New York Yacht Club seeks to extend the agreement to include subsequent cups and create a series of cup venues regardless of which club actually holds the trophy.

These stadiums are shared between the four teams that competed in the 36th American Cup in Auckland and require that the cup be held every three years, as the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has to announce the location of AC37 by June 21 – 10 days within the deadline for headquarters negotiations with the New Zealand government .

The protocol, which covers nearly 150 pages, seeks to impose budget limits on campaigns of $ 75 million per session, with other budget limits during that period. This was typically over $ 100 million per campaign.

Team size restrictions will also be imposed, with a maximum team size of 85-120 people, 20 of whom could be designers.

Existing teams will only be able to build a new one AC75, and the new teams will be able to build two new boats. The aim of the protocol is to create a fleet of more than 100 AC75 aircraft for a five-session period of the Copa America.

Restrictions are suggested on time in the water, time spent observing other teams and similar actions. Test time is usually limited to 100 days per year and is only permitted during the summer months in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.

The protocol provides for the establishment of a committee that will be a permanent body to monitor the trophy, regardless of the current cup holder. The committee includes the group of clubs known informally as “trustees of the cup”, or representatives of clubs that have held the cup since 1870, including some clubs that have been inactive in the affairs of the cup for several rounds, and others with only sporadic participation.

Events that include the Copa America season will be staged with both competitors and defenders in the game. The Challenger Select String will take place at the venue of the Cup, and the defender cannot participate in it. The defender and winner of the Challenger Selections Series will compete for the Copa America match.

The purpose of the protocol and the complete challenge is unclear, because the New York Yacht Club would have known for sure that the Challenge was actually submitted by Royal Yacht Squadron Racing and accepted by RNZYS. A three-pronged process is currently underway to negotiate a protocol with RYSR, Headquarters Negotiations with the New Zealand government, which ends June 17, 2021.