2021 America's Cup

The event will take place between 6 and 21 March 2021.[4]

Entries for challengers opened on 1 January 2018 and closed on 30 June 2018 with late entries accepted until 30 November 2018. Heats for challengers and the defender, known as World Series, will be held in 2020 in the brand new AC75 class. Challenger selection series will be held in January and February 2021 with the America's Cup match against the defender in March.[5]

Prior to Emirates Team New Zealand winning the 35th America's Cup in 2017, Oracle (the defender at the time) and four of the five challengers had signed a framework that would have seen the 36th America's Cup in 2019 and the 37th in 2021, with the existing 35th Cup class boats, the AC50s, and a pre-selection America's Cup World Series tournament with the same boats. Team New Zealand, the eventual champion, had opted to not sign the framework agreement, and were not bound by its terms, freeing them to set their defence for 2021 with a brand new format and class.[6][4]

Circolo della Vela Sicilia is the "Challenger of Record" for the 36th America's Cup. Their team, Luna Rossa Challenge, currently led by Max Sirena, had previously lost to Emirates Team New Zealand in the 2000 America's Cup, the 2007, and the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup finals. On 13 March 2018, Jimmy Spithill announced he was returning to the team, after his tenure as helmsman in the 2007 America's Cup.[7]

Ineos Team UK has entered and is led by Ben Ainslie.[8][9]

The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) has entered AC36, under the syndicate name American Magic, with a team led by Terry Hutchinson and funded by Doug DeVos, John J. "Hap" Fauth and Roger Penske. In May 2018 it was announced that Dean Barker would helm the boat.[10] "American Magic" refers to the first Cup winner, the yacht America of 1851, and the first defender, NYYC's yacht Magic, who successfully defended in 1870.[11] The America's Cup trophy was held by the NYYC for 132 years until 1983. The NYYC's reign was the longest winning streak - as measured by years - in the history of all sports.[12]

At the close of the late entry notice period, 30 November 2018, eight notices of challenge were submitted to the defender.[13] There was speculation about entries from Australia and China, and second challengers from Italy and the United States.[14] After processing those entries by order of reception, by the end of year 2018 three additional challenges were accepted: Iain Percy and the Royal Malta Yacht Club;[15] a second American challenge from Taylor Canfield and the Long Beach Yacht Club;[16] and a national challenge from the Netherlands issued by Royal Dutch Yacht Club.[17]

On 2 April 2019, the New York Yacht Club, through team American Magic, filed for arbitration relating to the acceptance of the three late entry teams. On 15 May 2019, the America's Cup Arbitration Panel released their decision denying American Magic's application and allowed the late entry teams to compete.[18]

On 31 May 2019, the Royal Malta Yacht Club announced that they were withdrawing as challenger.[19]

On 1 July 2019, the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Zeil- & Roeivereeniging announced that it was also withdrawing as a challenger, whereas the Long Beach Yacht Club confirmed their ongoing commitment.[20]

On 9 December 2020, Stars & Stripes (Long Beach Yacht Club) withdrew from the competition.[21]

Team	Yacht Club	Skipper	Website
Malta Atlus Challenge	Royal Malta Yacht Club	Iain Percy
Dutch Sail	Koninklijke Nederlandse Zeil- en Roeivereniging	Simeon Tienpont
Stars & Stripes	Long Beach Yacht Club	Taylor Canfield
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli	Circolo della Vela Sicilia	Max Sirena
American Magic	New York Yacht Club	Terry Hutchinson
INEOS Team UK	Royal Yacht Squadron	Sir Ben Ainslie

An official 36th America's Cup souvenir shop in Auckland CBD, New Zealand

The Cup will be sailed in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf, on the east coast of the North Island, in Auckland City's Waitematā Harbour as the venue.[22][23] Italy has been announced as the backup venue.[24]

The Cup will be sailed in AC75s, 75 foot foiling monohulls.[25][26] The boats are expected to have requirements around the boats being "constructed in country".[27]

Teams are allowed to build two boats each.[5]

Twenty percent of sailors in each team must have passports from that country. The rest must meet a residency requirement: they must reside in that team's country for 380 days from 1 September 2018 to 1 September 2020.[24]

• 28 September 2017: 36th America's Cup Protocol released
• 30 November 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
• 1 January 2018: Entries for Challengers open
• 31 March 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
• 30 June 2018: Entries for Challengers close
• 31 August 2018: Location of the America's Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
• 31 August 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
• 30 November 2018: Late entries deadline
• 31 March 2019: Boat 1 can be launched
• 15 February 2020: Boat 2 can be launched
• 23–26 April 2020: America's Cup World Series in Cagliari (Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)
• 4–7 June 2020: America's Cup World Series in Portsmouth (Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)
• 17–20 December 2020: America's Cup World Series and Christmas Race in Auckland
• January–February 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
• 6–21 March 2021: The America's Cup

The first two of the three planned 2020 Americas Cup World Series competitions – in Sardinia[28] and Portsmouth[29] – were cancelled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports. The third event (held over three days in December 2020) was won by Emirates Team New Zealand). A subsequent "Christmas Race" was abandoned due to low wind.[30] None were used as a qualification competition.[31]

The cancellations of the earlier regattas meant that the third world series event was the first time that the AC75 class had been sailed in competition anywhere, including by the competitors themselves, before the qualifying series.[32] The successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand meant that local activities were able to continue according to schedule and with minimal disruption – including the fact of spectators being allowed to gather in groups to view the event in-person, something which had been forbidden at nearly all major sporting events around the world during 2020.

The 2021 Prada Cup, to be held in Auckland between January 15 to February 22, 2021, will be used as the competition to determine the official challenger.[33] It will be a quadruple Round-robin tournament, to determine a seeding. 2nd and 3rd seeds will then compete in a best of seven series to advance to a best of 13 final series against the 1st seed. The winner of that final series will become the official challenger for the America's Cup and compete against defender Team New Zealand.

The America's Cup will be a best of 13 race series. Races will be held from 6-15 March, 2021, with two races per day on the 6th, 7th, 10th, and each day from the 12th to the 15th, and with additional "reserve days" available if poor weather necessitates.[34]

•  Australia: Fox Sports
•  Italy: RAI and Sky Italia
•  Malaysia: Astro
•  New Zealand: TVNZ
•  South Korea: SBS Korea
•  United Kingdom: BBC and Sky Sports UK and Ireland
•  United States: NBC Sports Network

The event was also "streamed live on Youtube, Facebook and americascup.com" in many jurisdictions.[35]

• Americascup.com, the official website of the competition