America’s Cup: Structure confirmed for Youth and Women’s events

The first women’s America’s Cup will include 12 teams, with the structure and dates of the regatta now revealed.

Organisers America’s Cup Event Limited (ACE) released the official Notice of Race yesterday (29 September 2022), confirming the schedules for both the women’s and youth America’s Cup regattas.

Running sequentially, the Youth America’s Cup starts on 19 September 2024 and the Women’s America’s Cup on 3 October 2024.

Both series are to be contested on the AC40 boats, currently undergoing development and testing by the syndicates.

The Notice of Race confirms that both the Women’s and Youth series will begin with a week of practice for the teams before the fleets are split, where possible, into two, with the confirmed AC Teams competing in one group and all the invited yacht clubs from around the world competing in another. Once racing begins, each group will race a Qualifying Series of fleet races, consisting of three races per day over three days to produce the top three podium teams from each group.

Those successful teams will then move forward to a ‘Final Series’ of four fleet races on one day to produce the top two teams who will advance on to the respective Youth and Women’s America’s Cup Single Matches to determine the respective winners.

The Youth America’s Cup Single Match Race will be run on the same day as the showpiece America’s Cup Challenger Final on 2 October 2024 – and will be raced in-between the Final flights – whilst the Women’s America’s Cup Single Match Race will be held on 16 October 2024 — the date scheduled for two America’s Cup Match races and again between flights.

Entries are open from November 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, with the organisers looking to confirm teams by May 1, 2024.

Sir Ben Ainslie of the Ineos Britannia team has confirmed they will be fielding a mixed youth team for the regatta to further promote gender diversity and equality. Organisers say “it is hoped, but not explicitly implied that others will follow suit.”

Gillian Williams, Vice Commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Chair of Sailing says: “We are thrilled to have a women’s team and a youth team, as well as ETNZ, represent RNZYS against the premier yachting nations of the world. The promotion of youth, diversity and excellence in yachting is very exciting.”

ACE adds its intend to invite up to seven teams representing yacht clubs from countries other than those represented by a competitor in the 37th America’s Cup.

A local team has already been created, representing the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona, Sail Team BCN, which will represent the city, the region and the country in both the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup 2024. The team, which will be managed by professional sailor Guillermo Altadill and international teams director Stewart Hosford, has received approval from America’s Cup Management (ACE) and Emirates Team New Zealand to be the Spanish challenger in the 2024 event.