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Times of London: Cup of Joy

Posted 1 year, 4 months ago

Times of London: Cup of Joy
From The Sunday Times July 8, 2007 "Cup of Joy" Alinghi?s win allows them to change the rules and make life even harder for the next challengers by Andrew Longmore No sooner has the America?s Cup become a proper sport again than the defenders whisk it back to a potential procession. Not happy, it seems, with the closeness of the pursuit over the past three months in Valencia, Alinghi, who beat Emirates Team New Zealand 5-2 to retain the trophy on Tuesday, have decided to introduce a new class of boat for the next series and to grant themselves the right to compete in the round-robin stages of the Louis Vuitton Cup, changes nakedly designed to improve the chances of the defending team next time. Experts in the discipline will smile benignly and remember the good old days of legal wrangling, when the America?s Cup was as likely to be won and lost in the nearest high Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI, Alinghi owner). Reuters photo.court as on the ocean waves. But the sphinx-like pronouncements of Ernesto Bertarelli, the owner of Alinghi, and Brad Butterworth, the winning skipper, at a press conference last week would have done little to encourage the sense of democracy fostered by the revised format for the 32nd America?s Cup or lift the morale of potential challengers, who must dig deeper into the pockets to fund an entirely new type of boat. ?The great thing about this cup is that it?s winnable,? Mike Sanderson, the team director of Team Origin, the British challengers for the next cup, said in these pages a week ago. After details of the protocol for the next challenge were released on Thursday, the Auld Mug is looking rather less winnable. Sanderson put a brave face on the announcement last week, welcoming the early response from Alinghi and the news that the event will stay in Europe, probably in Valencia, if the city can fund a further redevelopment of Port America?s Cup. ?The new America?s Cup class gives Team Origin the opportunity to compete on a level playing field with all the other challengers,? said the New Zealander last week. But not the defender. ?These bigger boats . . . should create faster sailing and a more exciting spectacle. We firmly believe that the cup will continue to grow in terms of competitors and popularity and are excited about putting together a successful campaign to win the America?s Cup.? If the next event can live up to the excitement of the last, it will be doing well. That is not necessarily what Alinghi want. The right of the defending team to create the rules of engagement for the next competition has been enshrined in the Deed of Gift for 130 years and Alinghi have no intention of sacrificing the natural advantage bequeathed them. Full story Full Story »

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