America's Cup changes considered
Changes to the format of the America’s Cup preliminary events are being considered in San Francisco by the holder, Larry Ellison’s Oracle Racing Team, the sponsoring Golden Gate Yacht Club and the organisation they have set up to arrange regattas over the next 48 months, the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA).
Already having had to hold up the announcement about which of the 14 challenges received for America’s Cup 34 can meet the qualification and financial requirements, ACEA, in conjunction with its sister organisation, America’s Cup Event Management ACEM), has seen timetables slip as a search continues for the venues to host the 2011-12 America’s Cup World Series (ACWS).
The projected seven or eight events are to be held in a specially designed and centrally-built 45-foot, wing-powered catamaran. These were to be replaced by 72-foot wing-powered catamarans, designed and built by each team, for the second ACWS series, the challenger elimination trials, the Louis Vuitton Cup, and the match between the defender and the single victorious challenger.
