America’s Cup delayed

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Credit: Th.Martinez/Alinghi.

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Credit: Rick Maiman/Alinghi.

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Credit: Rick Maiman/Alinghi.

As if to prove all the sceptics correct, America's Cup Management (ACM) released a muted press release that officially announced the delay of the 33rd America's Cup. Claiming the "ongoing uncertainty around the conclusion of the New York court case brought by BMW Oracle Racing" as the defining reason, ACM washed its hands completely from any other reason as to the postponement.

While those joining the debate at this late stage may completely sympathise with the position taken by ACM, this latest announcement, hot on the heels of the release of the proposed AC33 program and suggested timeline, has more indication of a committee losing its control of a situation than one moving forward in a controlled manner.

Whatever your position on the introduction of the new AC90 design and the legitimacy of CNEV as a Challenger of Record, the Formula One-type arrangement proposed for AC33, seems to have left open more questions than answers, something I find puzzling for what is in essence meant to be a one-on-one match race, albeit with a selection procedure.

Giving the indication that ACM did not really think the court case would affect their cause, ACM's sudden postponement of the 2009 AC Match merely adds to the disenchantment and sponsor mistrust in the entire affair. What problems this postponement may have to the teams currently sponsored and subscribed to the AC roadshow, the port of Valencia included, time will only tell.

But it would take a confident and motivated marketer to report back to their shareholders that millions of dollars have been tied up with a competition that no-one seems to have any control over.

However, I do not want to appear as a sceptical harbinger, for along with all the other commentators who have criticised ACM's actions this time around, we have merely been proved correct time and again: that trying to rush and dictate terms around a competition such as the America's Cup will simply not work.

King Canute eat your heart out - there's no point in simply claiming you know best without grounding, otherwise you will simply be left with an embarrassed line of blame attributing suits. Hopefully the verdict from the New York court case will pour oil onto these troubled waters, and not merely stoke the fire.

But postponement apart, the whole ethic that has driven ACM is increasingly that of running an elite regatta, not the ultimate match race. While there may be a delay, the essence of the released competition will still be fought for, which still leaves many questions unanswered. For example, designing a new AC90 boat apart, how much development will also have to be put into the ACC V5 boats for the preliminary Acts to try and maximise the sail count?

And what constitutes two-boat testing? What if one two similar boats happened to be sailing in the same vicinity? While there are certainly some very bold suggestions for the AC33, there is a definite feeling that the oldest trophy in sporting history is being turned into another Grand Prix event, a tactical PC ‘shoot ‘em up' with multiple lives; the legacy of America and Australia II lost under sponsorship stickers and TV timings.

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