With the lawyers busy doing their warm up exercises, The Afterguard takes the opportunity during this lull in activity to present the first in its series of how to 'Run Your Own America's Cup Campaign'.
Over the coming days, weeks, months & years (yes it really will be that long), The Afterguard will be taking an irreverent look at what it takes to mount a successful America's Cup campaign.
Everything hereafter is alleged and not at all true (The Afterguard has no wish to visit the New York Supreme Court or any other!).
Part 1 - Mounting a Challenge
Novice taxidermists take note: Only if your challenge goes to court will it involve any 'stuffing' - here we refer to the organisational techniques involved in being included in a cup campaign.
It may seem obvious to most, but the first task in presenting a successful campaign is to:
1. Know the rules by which you are governed.
This requires the careful study of the following documents:
i/ The Deed of Gift. It was written many years ago in a time before greed, skulduggery & un-sporting behaviour was known of, so it tends to take a lot for granted; this is good news for the novice team, as it presents a lot of 'wriggle room' - interpreted correctly you can get away with an awful lot even before you have to 'lubricate' your path into the Cup.
ii/ The Protocol. Anything the Deed of Gift appears to suggest unacceptable, the protocol will usually make acceptable. It is a document generated by the current defenders of the cup & which often cleverly contradicts the Deed of Gift while introducing yet further 'wriggle room'. Novice taxidermists take note: there may be an opportunity to practice your stitching skills at this stage, but only once you've successfully won the cup & are now looking to defend it.
2. Arrange to represent a 'sailing club'.
There are a couple of methods to achieving this:
i/ Visit a long-established organisation with an impeccable reputation & convince them there is much prestige in being identified with you (unleash your novice taxidermist if necessary).
ii/ Gather a few mates in a bar and try to think up a name for a new 'sailing' club (be sure to write down some of your ideas before alcohol takes grip, otherwise you might have to repeat the whole process).
Note: If following the second suggestion, be aware that there are a number of conditions to establishing that your new club is acceptable, but these are issues that need not concern you at this stage - everything necessary can be done much later, once you're up and running.
3. Arrange to have something to sail.
*Top Tip*
For this, we strongly recommend a boat - to date, only boats have been known to win the America's Cup. Better still, a boat which complies with the current America's Cup standard (for boats) will do nicely. Don't worry that the current America's Cup standard is known to be changing, nor that it is not clear as to what it is to be changing to. None of this matters right now. The important thing is to go to your bank (piggy or otherwise) and borrow the money to buy someone else's old boat. If the bank manager enquires as to what might be wrong with the boat that someone else no longer wants it, resist the temptation to tell them to discuss the matter with a novice taxidermist; bank managers are highly trained in the technique of 'spotting one a mile off' and it may be wise not to upset any that are agreeable to meeting with you.
4. Making your challenge.
Without a shadow of a doubt, making your challenge official is by far the greatest hurdle you will have faced up to this stage. There are a lot of people involved in running the America's Cup, and having decided to challenge, having created your club and having secured your boat, you really don't want to go and blow it all by asking the wrong person if you can participate. If you don't know who's who, it would be all too easy to go and talk with the owner of another team thinking they were in charge of running the whole show - just imagine the shame!
No, it's important to do your homework first. Have you studied the organiser's website thoroughly? Often, there's a wealth of useful information provided, and in recent years a great deal has been done to simplify the process of applying, as illustrated by the following image, gratefully taken from the current campaign's website (© ACM).
Please note that the helpful red box placed around the email address to which challenge applications should be sent is our inclusion - you won't find it on the actual website itself, so do be sure to look carefully (especially if your name is 'Larry').
Note that the 'entry' page of the organiser's website is quite unhelpful as it doesn't include any instruction as to how to proceed, so now might be a good time to bookmark this Afterguard page so you can return to it should you need.
We recommend formatting your application thus:
to: entry@americascup.com
from: dillusional@fictitioussailingclub.com
Subject: Can we join, please
Dear your excellency,
We would very much appreciate the opportunity to participate in the forthcoming America's Cup, wherever and whenever that might be.
We have joined/have set up/will set up* a bona fide sailing club, as required.
We have a boat. We have a boat that was once suitable for the America's Cup.
We agree to having no rights whatsoever once accepted as a challenger.
Additionally, we have oodles of money and not much sense.
We would very much like to participate in the next cup and we look forward to your approval with much anticipation.
Yours Faithfully,
Your name here.
* delete as applicable.
There you go, you've just met all the qualifying criteria and made your challenge.
Pending acceptance of your entry, do check back soon when we'll cover other areas of your 33rd America's Cup campaign, including, 'How Do You Sail A Boat?' and 'Who Pays For Stuff?'.
Note to regular readers: Don't ask, I'm just in a strange mood.
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Run Your Own America's Cup Campaign - Part 1
The America's Cup - There's Everything to Pay For
ACM provides details of an Auction of items from the 32nd America's Cup.
You can imagine the scene, you've just come to the end of a four year struggle to successfully organise a major global sporting event, no doubt with weeks of tying loose ends up still ahead; no sooner is the cup held aloft do you learn that you've got to do it all over again, only this time in a 2 year time frame... then news reaches you that there's a court action challenging your every decision, so things are going to be even more complicated. The good news is you've pretty much spent the past 4 years accumulating all that you need for the next campaign, so you don't have to worry about that. At the very least, you'd think your boss would let you hang on to your desk and chair to work from.
But this is the America's Cup, and there's sponsorship money to squander. So you decide to arrange an auction of everything that's beginning to look a bit tatty - perhaps you have a new colour scheme in mind for the office, or you simply see an opportunity to rid the organisation of that golf buggy you might have accidentally 'pranged' on one of those cerveza-fuelled late night races around the car park.
All that is conjecture, what is fact is that ACM now have a live website with details of their forthcoming auction, which you can visit here.
A recent press release detailed the lovelies on offer:
Valencia, 30 July 2007
Following the end of the competition on the water and the dismantling and packing of what was a successful event, some of the physical assets of the 32nd America's Cup will be put up for sale through a capital asset auction company.
The organisers of the 32nd America's Cup acquired numerous capital assets and despite last week's announcement that Valencia will be the Host City to the 33rd America's Cup, some of these assets will now be sold, and the revenue generated distributed in accordance with the Protocol for the 32nd America's Cup.
Among the items for sale are some of the boats used by the Regatta Operations department to organise the races, but also varied electronic items (plasma screens, computers, servers, televisions, etc), office furniture, vehicles (trucks, golf carts, scooters), catering equipment, etc. A few memorabilia items will also be part of the online auction.
The auction, exclusively online, will take place during three days in September.
So there we have it, irrefutable proof that the ACM's dieticians and nutritionists have ordered the management to go on a strict diet for the duration of the 33rd cup campaign, as evidenced by the auctioning of their catering equipment; it must be that, because we know the catering equipment manufacturing industry well, and we know their goods are designed to last a lot longer than 4 years!
And look see, there's more. The organisers of the America's Cup don't see the need to hang on to boats next time around. Does anyone know if the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone plan a format change to F1 at all? Perhaps spinnakers might make an appearance?
We also noted that there will be a few memorabilia items on offer, so we've raided the Afterguard's piggy bank in preparation; we suspect, however, that we're going to be disappointed to learn that the alleged availability of 'a pair of slacks belonging to Ernesto Bertarelli with Larry Ellison's teeth imprints on the backside' will turn out simply to be malicious rumour.
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
ACM Nominates Arbitration Panel for 33rd America's Cup
Three people were today given possibly the most unwanted jobs in sailing.
They were presented with the poisoned chalice of arbitrating the protocol and non-sporting/technical issues for the 33rd America's Cup. In doing so, the ACM acted in defiance of the moves being undertaken in the Courts of New York, potentially giving Larry Ellison all the provocation required to justify a much rumoured injunction to prevent any further progress in the organising of an America's Cup in accordance with the ACM's 33rd Protocol (1st edition, perhaps?).
The full content of the release, posted here, can be read below:
Three prestigious members nominated for Arbitration Panel
31-07-2007
Henry PeterOther merits: Member of the editing board of the Swiss Review of Business Law, member of the board of the Centre of banking and financial law of the University of Geneva, frequently arbitrator in international disputes relating to commercial and sports matters, director of several Swiss and foreign companies.
Graham McKenzie
--Ends--
Saturday, 28 July 2007
You've Got To Smile...
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, a fact known only too well by those scamps over at Sail Karma.
It doesn't really matter whether you're in the Ellison or Bertarelli camp, you've still got to smile! Respect guys.
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Bertarelli Clarifies 33rd Protocol - slightly
At this afternoon's ACM press conference to announce Valencia as the official host of the 33rd America's Cup, Alinghi & ACM's Ernesto Bertarelli clarified his view of events surrounding the 33rd Protocol.
He defined Valencia as a fantastic venue; subject to ACM's final decision, the 33rd Cup would be raced on the same North & South courses.
Regattas would take place in Valencia in Spring 2008, with a further one in Autumn 2008, at a venue yet to be determined by ACM, but guaranteed to be in Europe. Challenger selection would begin in 2009.
The new class of boat would be decided by October 2007; under ACM jurisdiction, consultation would take place with all challengers during September 2007 to define the boat's specification.
Teams will be allowed to build 2 vessels, but never to allow more than one on the water. Challengers will not line up on the water against any similar vessel until the challenger series. The rule applies equally to Alinghi, therefore Alinghi must meet competitors in the Challenger series, but would not proceed through to the challenger series final, and if beaten, they would lose their right to compete (though not clarified, presumably in further challenger matches, not the cup itself!). An independent nomination panel and jury would oversee all arrangements.
Bertarelli then went on to address the challenge from Larry Ellison and BMW Oracle Racing, who he explained that 'having failed to win on the water twice, failing to do better than 5th in the last series, have decided to bring the racing to court, to do what they could not do on the water, to win'.
The challenge posted to SNG indicated Oracle's intention to race exclusively in 90' multihulls; 'this is unacceptable' he explained, indicating that this 'damaging issue' had been passed to the independent America's Cup adjudication panel. He went on to explain that 'Ellison wishes to make this as expensive as possible, launching a costly and expensive campaign against Desfio Espanol and Alinghi, and a costly lawsuit in New York; he explained he knew litigation, and that 'no matter who wins, everybody loses money'. He criticised Ellison for pressing ahead with a costly multihull building program for 2008, while complaining that the ACM had not allowed enough time in the 33rd Protocol for challengers to prepare 90' boats for 2009. He characterised Ellison as having 'created uncertainty and damaging the America's Cup brand'.
Asked later during Q&A whether BMW Oracle racing would be allowed to compete should Ellison lose in court, Bertarelli explained, 'We're not lawyers, we're sailors, we're not corporate raiders', and responded, 'Today is a fantastic day about sport. We do not need this kind of, excuse me, bullshit'.
Lady mayoress of Valencia, Rita Barbera had earlier invited Ellison and his team to drop their litigation and enjoy the hospitality of Valencia.
Team New Zealand For 33rd America's Cup
Team New Zealand (note: not Emirates Team New Zealand) have applied and been accepted as challenger for the 33rd America's Cup.
At this afternoon's press conference to announce Valencia as the official host of the 33rd America's Cup, Ernesto Bertarelli announced that along with defenders Alinghi, challengers confirmed to date include Desafio Espanol, Team Shosholoza, TeamOrigin and today also Team New Zealand.
ACM Announce Valencia as Venue for 33rd America's Cup
America's Cup Management (ACM) held a press conference today at 17:30 in Port America, Valencia, Spain.
Prior to the conference proper, a presentation took place behind a podium proudly enscribed '33rd America's Cup - Valencia'.
Aside the mayoress, amid fireworks and the Auld Mug itself on the podium, Michel Bonnefous (ACM CEO) announced that Valencia will be the host of the 33rd America's Cup.
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
America's Cup Press Conference Due
ACM have announced their intention to stream live their 33rd America's Cup press conference from Port America, Valencia, Spain, on Wednesday 25th July 2007, at 17:30 (CET, we presume; 16:30 BST [GMT+1]).
Visit the official site here to watch the live video stream.
What's it to be? 'All is well'? 'We feel attacked'? 'No more CNEV'? We'll all have to tune in to find out!
Société Nautique de Genève respond to Supreme Court Move
America's Cup Management (ACM) have today issued a statement confirming official challengers for the 33rd America's Cup as Spain's Desafino Espaniol, South Africa's Team Shosholoza and Great Britain's TeamOrigin, contesting to face Switzerland's Alinghi in the final of the next competition.
Additionally, the statement reflects the reaction of Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) to the legal challenge being made by Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC)in the New York Supreme Court.
The statement in full:
Two more Challengers join the 33rd America’s Cup 24.07.2007
The Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) is pleased to announce that less than three weeks after Alinghi beat Emirates Team New Zealand to win the 32nd America’s Cup, two more teams have joined the Challenger of Record, Club Náutico Español de Vela, in challenging Alinghi for the 33rd America’s Cup. Last week, South Africa’s Team Shosholoza (Royal Cape Yacht Club) had its challenge accepted. On Monday, it was TEAMORIGIN (Royal Thames Yacht Club), marking a return to the America’s Cup for the United Kingdom.
Fred Meyer, Vice-Commodore of the SNG, comments: “We are delighted that these teams have challenged, they will bring much in the way of competition to the 33rd America’s Cup and will contribute to making this next event even greater than the 32nd edition.”
This good news comes off the back of a disappointing reaction from the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) represented by BMW Oracle Racing and Larry Ellison, which it has been reported in the press, is contesting the validity of the CNEV in the New York Supreme Court.
SNG’s Fred Meyer gives his reaction: “It is disappointing that the GGYC appears to be devoting its energies to disrupting and damaging the America’s Cup by attempting to secure an exclusive match for the trophy having failed to obtain the right to challenge through normal competition on two successive attempts, first in the 31st and then the 32nd America’s Cup. The GGYC is attempting to hold the event hostage to its demands for a private match race in catamarans and the SNG will never negotiate with GGYC under these circumstances and, as trustee of the Cup, will strongly defend all attempts by the GGYC to disrupt and damage the America’s Cup.”
Most surprising of all is that the GGYC expressly demands to race an exclusive match race against the Defender in 90ft catamarans on 4 July 2008. There will thus be no Challenger Selection Series, nor pre-regattas. The Swiss Yacht Club stands by the validity of the challenge from the CNEV, the Challenger of Record, in all respects and cannot consider another Challenger of Record without breaching the terms of the Deed of Gift. Accordingly, SNG rejected the GGYC’s challenge on behalf of BMW Oracle Racing and continues to hope that it will abandon its misguided action and join other challengers now entering the 33rd America’s Cup under the terms of the Protocol governing this event.
It has been widely acknowledged, including by the GGYC, that the 32nd America’s Cup was superb. By hosting and developing the event in Europe and by delivering some of the most exciting and competitive racing for a growing fan base and TV audience, the America’s Cup is now firmly established as a truly global sporting event. This GGYC action, contrary to their claims, returns the America’s Cup to litigation, adverse publicity and poor sportsmanship, precisely the same situation which marred the America’s Cup in the late 1980s.
Following the tremendous success of the first competition for the America’s Cup to be held in Europe since 1851, the Société Nautique de Genève looks forward to an even better 33rd America’s Cup involving competitive challengers from around the world and providing a bright future for the sport of yacht racing.
--Ends--
Coutts for BMW Oracle Racing in 33rd America's Cup
Being widely reported is the attendance by Russell Coutts at today's BMW Oracle Racing press conference, in which Coutts was introduced as the newly signed skipper and CEO of BMW Oracle Racing for the team's challenge for the 33rd America's Cup.
Valencia Sailing were in attendance & have further detail, including images & audio from the conference.
Inset image: Photo © Reuters
Monday, 23 July 2007
TEAMORIGIN For The 33rd America's Cup
Following on from the official announcement of Shosholoza's 33rd America's Cup challenge, TEAMORIGIN today released a statement confirming the acceptance of their application to challenge in the next America's Cup.
The TEAMORIGIN statement in full:
TEAMORIGIN Becomes An Official Challenger Of The 33rd America’s Cup
Today, Monday 23rd July 2007, the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), represented by Alinghi, received a challenge from the Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC), represented by TEAMORIGIN, for the 33rd America’s Cup. AC Management (ACM) has now informed the RTYC and TEAMORIGIN that its challenge has been accepted.
Following the Spanish Club Náutico Español de Vela’s challenge represented by Desafio Espanol and the South African Royal Cape Yacht Club’s challenge represented by Team Shosholoza, the Royal Thames Yacht Club’s challenge, represented by Sir Keith Mills’ TEAMORIGIN, becomes the third officially accepted challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup since Alinghi completed its successful defence of the 32nd America’s Cup on 3rd July 2007.
Sir Keith Mills commented from London, “TEAMORIGIN and the RTYC have together challenged for the America’s Cup believing that a Host City, a full regatta programme for the coming seasons and a class rule for the new boat to be used for the 33rd America’s Cup Match will shortly be announced. TEAMORIGIN further believes that several other teams will challenge in the coming weeks and months following these announcements.”
John Stork, Vice-Commodore of the RTYC, added, “The impetus and momentum created by the event organisers ACM over the course of the past four years with the 32nd America’s Cup gives the Royal Thames every confidence that the 33rd America’s Cup will be just as successful, both on and off the water.”
Mike Sanderson, Team Director of TEAMORIGIN, said, “These are exciting times for the America’s Cup competition. A new class of boat will put all challengers, old and new, on an equal footing. Other than the techniques used to design and build boats there will be little of technical value to be taken forward from the old class. The first generation of any new yacht racing class always sees many differences show up in the different concepts adapted by the various design teams. We believe it will be easier for a new team to become competitive at the America’s Cup with the introduction of a new class of boat and should deliver faster sailing and a more exciting spectacle.”
Sir Keith Mills concluded, “Our goal is to win the America’s Cup and bring the Auld Mug back to British shores for the first time in history. The challenge is therefore an important and positive step forward to achieving our objectives and we look forward to further event details being announced and other teams joining us for the 33rd America’s Cup.”
This is the 21st time that a British yacht club’s challenge for the America’s Cup will result in racing for the ultimate prize in sailing. The name TEAMORIGIN is a subtle reminder that the origins of the whole America’s Cup phenomenon can be found in a race that took place in 1851. This original race saw the yacht ‘America’ beat a fleet of British racing yachts around the Isle of Wight, the prize for which was a sterling silver wine ewer. This trophy was popularly renamed the America’s Cup as a result of that yacht’s notoriety. A Deed of Gift, first written in 1871 and updated several times since, transformed the America’s Cup into a perpetual challenge trophy open to yacht clubs from all nations. It has just been put back into competition for the 33rd time.
TEAMORIGIN will formally present its key team members at the Southampton Boat Show on Friday 14th September 2007.
Friday, 20 July 2007
Shosholoza for 33rd America's Cup
Shosholoza signs on for the 33rd America's Cup - official.
Mariantic today reported South African Sailing's revelation that Team Shosoloza had lodged a notice of entry for the 33rd America's Cup.
Although it had long been assumed that Shosholoza would be a challenger next time around, the timing - amid much confusion as to the specifics of the 33rd Cup - has come as something of a surprise.
Thursday, 19 July 2007
Will The Real 33rd COR Please Make Themselves Known?
Word reaches The Afterguard courtesy of BYM Sailing & Sports News of significant developments concerning the proposed 33rd America's Cup Protocol recently released by Societe Nautique de Geneve(SNG - see here).
It is speculated that the Challenger of Record (COR), Club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV), is preparing to stand down, subsequent to the challenge to the Protocol presented by Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), in which it is claimed that as COR, CNEV did not meet the requirements of the Deed Of Gift which govern the terms under which the America's Cup is defended (see here, here & here).
In terms of the sequence of events leading to the proposed nomination of COR, it is being speculated that CNEV made the first application to be COR, followed by Great Britain's Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC, TEAMORIGIN). Subsequently GGYC (BMW Oracle Racing) challenged the Protocol and its nominated COR, presenting their own claim to the role.
Should CNEV be proved a discredited COR (& therefore disqualified) or pre-emptively resigns, yet the remaining content of the 33rd Protocol remain uncontested, SNG will exercise their right to select the alternative COR, presumed to be RTYC - with little apparent love between SNG & GGYC, it's unlikely that SNG would willingly nominate GGYC (& couldn't hope to do so without appearing to capitulate completely). Might GGYC then dispute this outcome?
Upon the withdrawal or disqualification of the Challenger of Record,
SNG shall select, at its sole and exclusive discretion,
a new or an existing Challenging Competitor to be the new Challenger of Record.
If no Challenging Competitor is willing to become the new Challenger of Record,
the new Challenger of Record shall be the Challenging Competitor
who was the first in time to submit to ACM a completed Notice of Entry.
Or, will GGYC continue to dispute - encouraged by the scent of the blood of a wounded adversary - the selection of the original COR regardless of any anticipated resignation - claiming the entire 33rd AC Protocol invalid, in which case they contend that they should be considered the rightful COR. In this potential outcome, SNG would find itself negotiating the terms of a revised Protocol with GGYC, & should there be no consensus, the terms would revert to reflect the original conditions of the Deeds of Gift, unchanged by any Protocol.
If this happened, there's the potential of the RTYC then presenting a challenge to the decision, possibly considering themselves the first valid challenge (after the invalid CNEV and before the GGYC's challenge), & therefore the rightful COR in the eyes of the Deed of Gift. Or they might give consideration to the fact that 8 challengers are apparently aligned with GGYC, subscribed to the belief that the GGYC are seeking to uphold the best interests of all challengers and indeed the spirit of the cup.
The GGYC today issued a second statement defining their vision for the 33rd Cup, prescribing Valencia, V5 ACC vessels and, as before, themselves as COR. Read the statement in full here.
TEAMORIGIN may feel their best bet is to diplomatically step back from the maelstrom & focus their full attention on the business of mounting the best possible challenge on the water, & at the same time win themselves favour from the rest of the challengers (of what value?).
What would be in the best interests of TEAMORIGIN? Clearly, COR status would put the team centre stage, which would be advantageous in terms of attracting publicity and sponsorship (or at least could be 'spun' so), but it also puts a very young team at the centre of what some consider a political snake pit. Go for broke and there might be derisive claims of being a COR of convenience, allowing both sides of the current argument to avoid humiliation.
We have just one final (mischievous) thought - what constitutes 'friendly'?
Challenge Cup for friendly competition between foreign countries.
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
TEAMORIGIN - GBR75's Maiden Voyage - Gallery
Saturday July 14th 2007 saw an event of great significance to Great Britain's bid to compete in the 33rd & 34th America's Cup - the maiden voyage (under TEAMORIGIN ownership) of its first vessel. The Afterguard presents a gallery of images depicting the event.
Updated 24/8/07: Images 29a, 29b, 29c.
Inset image: Photo 1 © Carlo Borlenghi/kospictures.com
The Afterguard is extremely grateful to the talented photographers who have consented to us providing this spectacular gallery of images depicting the maiden voyage.
During Saturday's shakedown, GBR75 was joined by a replica of 'America'
- the first winner back in 1851 and after whom the cup is named.
