The America Cup who will organize Barcelona in 2024 It’s one of the most prestigious trophies in sport and the oldest in the sailing world. Its winners are part of an exclusive club as reflected by the fact that in its 170-year history only four countries have won it (the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland). The challenge is not only to have the best sailors, it is also necessary to have the best designers or engineers to apply the latest technological advances to the boats. For television audiences, the Copa América would be the third most watched sporting event in the worldafter the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Some sources put them at more than 700 million viewers. It takes place every three or four years. The last edition was in 2021 in oakland and the previous one in Hamilton (Bermuda) in 2017.
When do its origins go back?
On the occasion of the Great London Exhibition in 1851 a regatta called Queen’s Cup, whose winner would receive a silver trophy designed by the official jeweler of the Royal House, Robert Garrard, valued at one hundred gold guineaswho delivered the Royal Yacht Squadronregatta organizer That is the reason why the trophy is known as the Hundred Guineas Cup. The tour consisted of a lap around the Isle of Wight, in the south of England. Members of the New York Yacht Club aboard the schooner America they met and defeated fourteen ships of the Royal London Yacht Squadron.
One of the most peculiar aspects of the America Cup is that the champion, in addition to winning the trophy, also has the right to choose the venue for the next edition, in which he will defend the title, and also to define the rules of the competition with the team that has challenged him. The Emirates Team New Zealanddefending team of the title, and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadronthe club he represents, made the election of Barcelonain front of Malaga, Cork (Ireland) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) who also aspired to host it. It is the fourth time in history that the defender does not choose his city, which says a lot about the bet on Barcelona. The initial idea is that the regatta field be installed between the Port Olímpic and the Hotel Vela, with an extension of two nautical miles long (3.7 kilometers) by one mile wide. But until November 30 of this year it will not become official.
How is the competition system?
The America Cup It has two phases of competition, which usually lasts for 14 weeks. In the first, the club that defends the title can choose the team that represents it in case there is more than one boat. The last time the defender was selected was in 1995. In Barcelona there will be no option. The champion Emirates Team New Zealand will defend title. A previous competition is also held to choose the challenging boat, the team that challenges the champion. So far there are four: Inneos Britannia (Great Britain), the Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland), the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (Italy) and the NYYC American Magic (USA), although until May 31, 2023 that list can be extended. Those four boats will contest the Challenger Selection Series, whose winner wins the place in the final. The winner of these heats or series wins a trophy whose name has varied over time and which, since 2021, is known as Prada Cup. The two boats that dispute the title mutually adopt the dates and the number of regattas (in 2021 there were 10), as well as rules, regulations. In the Prada Cupas in the America Cup, it competes in a ‘match race’ format, boat against boat.
How are the participating boats?
The AC75 they are the fastest monohulls today and can reach speeds of 90 km/h. The designers have created a boat of 20.72 meters in length and 7.5 tons of weight capable of rising above the surface of the water. The most striking thing about the AC75 is that they lack a keel, which can be understood as the backbone of the hull. To stay upright, they use two huge arms with foils moved by a hydraulic system. One of the arms is always in the water and the other suspended in the air, acting as ballast. The energy needed to activate this four-meter-long innovation that supports the boat is provided by eight of the 11 crew members, who produce their energy with their arms, although in the 2017 edition, the fly emirates The New Zealander revolutionized the competition by using four cyclists to generate the power, instead of using the classic method. On board we also find a helmsman, in charge of the direction; the main trimmer, which controls by means of buttons and controls the angle of the mast and the sails and the flight controller, which controls the angles of the arms and the flaps of the hydrofoils with devices.