America's Cup facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
America's Cup
The America's Cup ewer
Sport	Sailing match race
Founded	1851
Most recent champion(s)	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (4th title)
Most titles	New York Yacht Club (25 titles)
Official website	AmericasCup.com

The America's Cup is a super exciting sailing competition. It's actually the oldest international sports event still happening today! In the America's Cup, two sailing yachts race against each other. One boat is from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy, called the defender. The other boat is from a yacht club that wants to win the cup, called the challenger.

The winner gets the famous America's Cup trophy, which people sometimes call the "Auld Mug." These races don't happen on a fixed schedule. They usually take place every three or four years. The last America's Cup race was in March 2021.

Any yacht club that follows the rules in a special document called the "Deed of Gift" can challenge for the cup. If the challenging club wins, they get to keep the cup until the next race. For a long time, only one club challenged at a time. But since 1970, many clubs want to challenge. So, they have a special race series called the Challenger Selection Series. This series decides which club gets to be the official challenger.

The America's Cup is very famous and important. It attracts the best sailors, boat designers, and rich sponsors from all over the world. It's a huge test of sailing skill, boat design, and how well a team can raise money and manage everything. Competing is super expensive! Modern teams can spend over $100 million. The winner in 2013 might have spent $300 million!

Right now, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron holds the America's Cup. They won the 36th America's Cup in March 2021. They used a special boat called Te Rehutai, which is an AC75 foiling monohull. The next America's Cup will be in Barcelona, Spain, starting on October 12, 2024. Both the 37th and 38th America's Cup races will use AC75 class yachts.

History of the America's Cup
The America's Cup Trophy
How Clubs Challenge for the Cup
Challengers and Defenders
Records of Winning Clubs and Skippers
See Also

History of the America's Cup

The America's Cup is the oldest international sports competition. The cup itself was made in 1848. It was first called the "RYS £100 Cup." The very first race for this cup happened on August 22, 1851. It was a race around the Isle of Wight in England.

The race was between the America yacht from the New York Yacht Club and 15 other yachts. Even Queen Victoria watched the race! The America yacht won. This race is seen as the first America's Cup event.

In 1857, the people who owned the America yacht gave the cup to the New York Yacht Club. They did this with a special document called the Deed of Gift of the America's Cup. This document sets the rules for how clubs can challenge for the cup. It says the cup should always be a "perpetual challenge Cup for friendly competition between foreign countries." It also explains what happens if the clubs can't agree on how to race. The deed makes it clear that the cup belongs to the winning club, not to the boat's owner.

The New York Yacht Club kept the trophy from 1857 until 1983. They won 24 races in a row! This was the longest winning streak in any sport, lasting 132 years. But then, the Royal Perth Yacht Club from Australia won with their yacht Australia II.

In the early days, rich sportsmen owned the yachts. These boats were very big, about 65–90 ft (20–27 m) long. This led to the beautiful J-Class races in the 1930s. After World War II, the rules changed to allow smaller, less expensive boats. From 1958 to 1987, they used 12-metre class yachts. Then, from 1990 to 2007, they used the International America's Cup Class boats.

Later, there were some legal fights about the rules. The 2010 America's Cup used 90 ft (27 m) multihull yachts. The winner, the Golden Gate Yacht Club, then chose to race the 2013 America's Cup with AC72 foiling, wing-sail catamarans. These boats are super fast because they lift out of the water! The 2017 America's Cup used 50 ft (15 m) foiling catamarans.

The America's Cup Trophy

The trophy is also known as the "Auld Mug." It's a fancy sterling silver ewer (a type of jug) made in 1848. Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey bought one and gave it for a race in 1851.

It was first called the 'R.Y.S. £100 Cup'. This meant it was worth 100 British Pounds. The winning boat in 1851 was a schooner named America. It was owned by a group from the New York Yacht Club (NYYC). In 1857, this group gave the trophy to the NYYC forever. That's when it was renamed the 'America's Cup' after the winning yacht. The rules said it had to be available for international competition forever.

The cup was mistakenly engraved as the "100 Guinea Cup." A guinea was an old British coin worth a bit more than a pound. People also called it the "Queen's Cup." Today, it's officially the "America's Cup." Sailors often lovingly call it the "Auld Mug." The names of all the winning yachts are carved onto it. They even added extra bases twice to fit more names!

How Clubs Challenge for the Cup

All challenges for the America's Cup follow the rules in the Deed of Gift of the America's Cup. This document explains which clubs can challenge and what information they must provide. The defender and challenger usually agree on most of the race details. But if they can't agree, the Deed of Gift has backup rules. The first proper challenge must be accepted by the defender.

To challenge, a club must be an "organized yacht Club" from a country different from the defender's. It must be officially recognized by its country. The club also needs to hold an "annual regatta" (a yearly boat race) on the ocean or a large body of water connected to the sea. The New York Supreme Court has even said that the Great Lakes count as "arms of the sea."

The challenging club must give dates for the proposed races. These dates must be at least 10 months after the challenge is made. The challenge also needs to include details about the yacht. For example, its length and width. If a yacht has one mast, it must be between 44 and 90 feet (13 and 27 m) long. If it has more than one mast, it must be between 80 and 115 feet (24 and 35 m) long. Both the challenger and defender must follow these size limits. The boats must only use sails to move. They must also be built in the country of their yacht club.

The defender and challenger can agree on different dates, race courses, and rules. Since 1958, the usual way is for the defender and one challenger to agree. This challenger then organizes a "Challenger Series." Many other yacht clubs from different countries compete in this series. The yacht that wins the Challenger Series gets the Herbert Pell Cup. They also win another sponsored cup, like the Prada Cup (in 2021) or the Louis Vuitton Cup (from 1983 to 2017, and again in 2024).

If the challenger and defender can't agree on anything, the Deed of Gift has backup rules. It says they must have a "first-to-two" race (meaning the first to win two races wins the match). These races happen on ocean courses chosen by the defender. The defender's rules apply, as long as they don't go against the Deed of Gift.

Challengers and Defenders

This table shows the history of the America's Cup races, listing the defending and challenging clubs and their results.

Challengers and defenders
Rule	Year	Venue	Defending club	Defender	Score	Challenger	Challenging club
Fleet racing	1851	Isle of Wight	Royal Yacht Squadron	8 cutters and 7 schooners, runner-up Aurora	0–1	John Cox Stevens syndicate, America	New York Yacht Club
Fleet racing	1870	New York City	New York Yacht Club	17 schooners, winner Franklin Osgood's Magic	1–0	James Lloyd Ashbury, Cambria	Royal Thames Yacht Club
Schooner match	1871	New York City	New York Yacht Club	Franklin Osgood, Columbia (2–1) and William Proctor Douglas, Sappho (2–0)	4–1	James Lloyd Ashbury, Livonia	Royal Harwich Yacht Club
Schooner match	1876	New York City	New York Yacht Club	John Stiles Dickerson, Madeleine	2–0	Charles Gifford, Countess of Dufferin	Royal Canadian Yacht Club
65 ft sloop	1881	New York City	New York Yacht Club	Joseph Richard Busk, Mischief	2–0	Alexander Cuthbert, Atalanta	Bay of Quinte Yacht Club
NYYC 85ft	1885	New York City	New York Yacht Club	John Malcolm Forbes syndicate, Puritan	2–0	Sir Richard Sutton, Genesta	Royal Yacht Squadron
	1886	New York City	New York Yacht Club	Charles Jackson Paine, Mayflower	2–0	Lt. & Mrs. William Henn, Galatea	Royal Northern Yacht Club
	1887	New York City	New York Yacht Club	Charles Jackson Paine, Volunteer	2–0	James Bell syndicate, Thistle	Royal Clyde Yacht Club
SCYC 85ft	1893	New York City	New York Yacht Club	Charles Oliver Iselin syndicate, Vigilant	3–0	Earl of Dunraven, Valkyrie II	Royal Yacht Squadron
SCYC 90ft	1895	New York City	New York Yacht Club	William K. Vanderbilt syndicate, Defender	3–0	Earl of Dunraven syndicate, Valkyrie III	Royal Yacht Squadron
	1899	New York City	New York Yacht Club	J. Pierpont Morgan syndicate, Columbia	3–0	Sir Thomas Lipton, Shamrock	Royal Ulster Yacht Club
	1901	New York City	New York Yacht Club	J. Pierpont Morgan syndicate, Columbia	3–0	Sir Thomas Lipton, Shamrock II	Royal Ulster Yacht Club
	1903	New York City	New York Yacht Club	Cornelius Vanderbilt III syndicate, Reliance	3–0	Sir Thomas Lipton, Shamrock III	Royal Ulster Yacht Club
Universal 75 ft	1920	New York City	New York Yacht Club	Henry Walters syndicate, Resolute	3–2	Sir Thomas Lipton, Shamrock IV	Royal Ulster Yacht Club
Universal J-Class	1930	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Harold S. Vanderbilt syndicate, Enterprise	4–0	Sir Thomas Lipton, Shamrock V	Royal Ulster Yacht Club
	1934	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Harold S. Vanderbilt syndicate, Rainbow	4–2	Sir Thomas Sopwith, Endeavour	Royal Yacht Squadron
	1937	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Harold S. Vanderbilt, Ranger	4–0	Sir Thomas Sopwith, Endeavour II	Royal Yacht Squadron
IYRU 12mR	1958	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Henry Sears, Columbia	4–0	Hugh Goodson syndicate, Sceptre	Royal Yacht Squadron
	1962	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Mercer, Walsh, Frese syndicate, Weatherly	4–1	Sir Frank Packer, Gretel	Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
	1964	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Eric Ridder syndicate, Constellation	4–0	Anthony Boyden, Sovereign	Royal Thames Yacht Club
	1967	Newport	New York Yacht Club	William Justice Strawbridge syndicate, Intrepid	4–0	Emil Christensen, Dame Pattie	Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
	1970	Newport	New York Yacht Club	William Justice Strawbridge syndicate, Intrepid	4–1	Sir Frank Packer, Gretel II	Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
	1974	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Robert Willis McCullough syndicate, Courageous	4–0	Alan Bond, Southern Cross	Royal Perth Yacht Club
	1977	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Ted Turner, Courageous	4–0	Alan Bond, Australia	Sun City Yacht Club
	1980	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Freedom syndicate, Freedom	4–1	Alan Bond, Australia	Royal Perth Yacht Club
	1983	Newport	New York Yacht Club	Freedom syndicate, Liberty	3–4	Alan Bond, Australia II	Royal Perth Yacht Club
	1987	Fremantle	Royal Perth Yacht Club	Kevin Parry, Kookaburra III	0–4	Sail America, Stars & Stripes 87	San Diego Yacht Club
DOG match	1988	San Diego	San Diego Yacht Club	Sail America, Stars & Stripes 88	2–0	Fay Richwhite, KZ-1 New Zealand	Mercury Bay Boating Club
IACC	1992	San Diego	San Diego Yacht Club	Bill Koch, America³	4–1	Raul Gardini, Il Moro di Venezia	Compagnia della Vela
	1995	San Diego	San Diego Yacht Club	Sail America, Young America	0–5	Team New Zealand, Black Magic	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
	2000	Auckland	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron	Team New Zealand, NZL-60	5–0	Prada Challenge, Luna Rossa	Yacht Club Punta Ala
	2003	Auckland	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron	Team New Zealand, NZL 82	0–5	Alinghi, SUI-64	Société Nautique de Genève
	2007	Valencia	Société Nautique de Genève	Alinghi, SUI-100	5–2	Team New Zealand, NZL-92	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
DOG match	2010	Valencia	Société Nautique de Genève	Alinghi, Alinghi 5	0–2	BMW Oracle Racing, USA-17	Golden Gate Yacht Club
AC72	2013	San Francisco	Golden Gate Yacht Club	Oracle Team USA, Oracle Team USA 17	9–8	Team New Zealand, Aotearoa	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
AC50	2017	Bermuda	Golden Gate Yacht Club	Oracle Team USA, 17	1–7	Team New Zealand, Aotearoa	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
AC75	2021	Auckland	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron	Emirates Team New Zealand, Te Rehutai	7–3	Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, Luna Rossa	Circolo della Vela Sicilia
AC75	2024	Barcelona	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron	Emirates Team New Zealand, tba	-	Winner of 2024 Challenger Selection Series, tba	Winner of 2024 Challenger Selection Series, tba