Following the closure of the ‘Entry Period’ for the 38th America’s Cup on the 31 October little has happened to clarify the situation.
The two announced entries to date are The Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand and the Challenger of Record, Britain’s Athena Racing.
Of the former AC37 teams, definitely not entering are the American Magic team, and still on the sidelines are the Swiss Alinghi Red Bull Racing. The two most likely other entries are the Italian team Luna Rossa, as Naples is the event venue, and the French K-Challenge (formally Orient Express) team.
Both those teams have an AC75 from the last America’s Cup, but as Dalton and Ainslie have rowed back on their responsibility to name the challengers, we have to wait for any further entries to make the announcement in their own time.
The America’s Cup Partnership Board is now officially running the 38th America’s Cup and its associated regattas.
Challengers are required to join the ACP on entry and the Board is comprised of one member from each of the entered teams, which leaves us with the obvious question . . . Who has entered and who is now the CEO of ACP, supposedly taking over from Grant Dalton and America’s Cup Events Ltd?
Meanwhile the Kiwis have bulked up their AC team and are busy sailing:
Jo Aleh, Seb Menzies, Josh Armit and Jake Pye have joined Nathan Outteridge, Andy Maloney, Blair Tuke, Chris Draper and Sam Meech, and are busy bringing them up to speed with their AC40 down in Auckland.
The other official entry, Ben Ainslie’s Athena Racing, last reported that their AC75 hull was sitting in the shed in Barcelona.
So it seems that with just the Kiwi and Italian teams ramping-up with their AC40s for the three preliminary regattas in 2026, and with their design teams working on the changes required by the latest AC75 rules, any late entries will face a considerable technical and logistic mountain.
ETNZ COO Kevin Shoebridge said, “It’s really now about looking forward to the Cup in Naples and what that means for the AC75. We’re doing the preliminary work now, understanding the class rule, knowing where we can move within that space, and what we can do. Our plan is to be in Naples next year doing some sailing at the venue, and that’s what we’re working towards with the AC75.”
The Kiwis had the fastest boat in Barcelona and the requirement to use the old hulls seems set to maintain that advantage for Naples, and with their usual efficiency they are doubling down on their team building and training.
AC38 Protocol:
The America’s Cup Partnership (ACP) is required to publish a list of accepted Challengers received during the Entry Period and their order of entry based on the order of receipt of their Notice of Challenge. Late entry is possible up to 31 January 2026 with payment of extra fees.
The Defender and the ACP are required to keep the list updated to include any accepted Late Challenges and withdrawals.
Related Post:
America’s Cup Entry Period closed with just two announced entries
