America's Cup 2013:
Defender and Challenger List


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2013 America's Cup Teams:   This page documents the formation of the 2013 teams.  Click on Team Names or Scroll Down to read more.  Also see see CupInfo's 2013 Teams page for more details on the current teams.


Photo:©2010 Gilles Martin-Raget/Oracle Racing

There are three challengers for the 2013 America's Cup, making a total of four competitors including the Defender, Golden Gate YC.  A late entry from Italian veterans Luna Rossa was announced in November, 2011.  Four additional teams will compete in the America's Cup World Series, but not compete to challenge GGYC for the trophy.

The challengers represent three countries, with the USA facing attempts from Sweden, New Zealand, and Italy to take away the trophy. 

14 yacht clubs submitted notices of entry within the normal entry window, 13 of which were accepted.  One challenge was eventually declined by GGYC for reasons not disclosed at the time.  One late entry was accepted after the deadline, while ten of the accepted teams withdrew or were excused from competition in the 34th Defense, leaving three official active challengers.  Historically, a high rate of early attrition by intended challengers is not unheard of in the America's Cup over the last 40 years of multiple challengers.

Currently, Oracle Racing is the only candidate to be Defender Golden Gate YC's representative, though additional defender candidates were encouraged.

The basic window for challenge entries ran from November 1, 2010, until March 31st, 2011.  The Protocol permits late entries at the discretion of GGYC, though officials said latecomers would be accepted only in the case of teams with substantial experience and resources seeking to participate.  Luna Rossa, a veteran of three earlier America's Cup campaigns, was the only late entry. 

ACWS Only:
Ben Ainslie Racing was accepted in January 2012 to compete only in the ACWS, not as a challenger.  Energy Team announced August 1, 2012 that they would also become an ACWS-only team, and not build a challenging yacht for 2013. China Team last competed in Venice in May, 2012, did not participate in the ACWS event in Newport, for June, 2012, but is back on the schedule for San Francisco in August at last check. Team Korea, lacking an AC72 program, ultimately fit this category, too, until they ceased AC34 activities.

Withdrawals:
One team, Mascalzone Latino, resigned in May, 2011.  Mascalzone, or more precisely their yacht club, Club Nautico di Roma, was the initial Challenger of Record (COR), and their replacement as COR by the Royal Swedish YC and Artemis Racing was governed by the Order of Entry and the Protocol for the 34th Defense.

Team Korea on paper was also an America's Cup challenger, but showed no sign of building the boat that would be necessary to compete, and confirmed their withdrawl in March, 2103..

Aleph's withdrawal was confirmed April 4, 2012, though they had participated in the first three ACWS events. GreenComm's withdrawal was confirmed April 17, 2012.

Venezia Challenge, considered an Official Team even in June, 2011, was "excused from further participation" on July 25, 2011, after being unable to meet requirements, according to an ACEA Press Release.

Team Australia appeared to have missed some financial obligations, with their leadership saying even mid-June, 2011, after GGYC excused them from competing in 2013, that they were still seeking to participate, though ultimately they did not secure funding within time.

Three other teams, unnamed to date, also were officially accepted but then not confirmed as still active when GGYC publicly announced entries on June 15, 2011.

Last Updated June 25, 2013

 
Officially Accepted (4):
Defender (1):
Oracle Team USA Defender USA
Challengers (3):
Artemis Racing Challenger* SWE
Emirates Team New Zealand Challenger NZL
Luna Rossa Challenge Challenger ITA
Teams are listed above in order of announcement. See Official Order of Entry and more details.
*Artemis is also current "Challenger of Record"

America's Cup World Series Only (4):

Energy Team ACWS Team FRA
China Team ACWS Team CHN
Ben Ainslie Racing ACWS Team GBR
HS Racing ACWS Team USA

Officially Entered But Now Out:

Mascalzone Latino Former Challenger of Record ITA
White Tiger Challenge Challenger KOR
Aleph Team France Challenger FRA
Green Comm Challenger ESP
Venezia Challenge Challenger ITA
Team Australia Challenger AUS
Unnamed Team #1 TBA TBA
Unnamed Team #2 TBA TBA
Unnamed Team #3 TBA TBA

Entry Declined:
One formerly pending entry was subsequently declined.

Declared Interest:
All4One Challenger ?
Synergy Russia Sailing Challenger RUS
Red Maple Racing Challenger CAN

Rumored, Hinted, Denied, or Imagined:
Ben Ainslie Racing Challenger GBR
Australia Simon Grosser Challenger AUS
Enthusiast/Mark Turner Challenger GBR?
Austrian Team Challenger AUT
Cameron Lewis Defender USA
Africa Diaspora Defender USA
Spanish Team Challenger ESP

Non-Entries:

Post-2007 Teams
Officially Withdrawn:
Azzurra
TeamOrigin
Argo Challenge

Teams from 2007 and Previous
Inactive:
+39
Victory Challenge
Desafío Español
Officially Withdrawn:
South Africa Challenge/Shosholoza
United Internet Team Germany
Alinghi
 



Defender:

Golden Gate YC  San Francisco, USA

Oracle Team USA  (formerly Oracle Racing, formerly BMW Oracle Racing)
After fielding a mind-boggling three-hulled wing-masted rocketship to wrest control of the trophy and the event, Oracle returns to their San Francisco home in what appears a position of great strength.  James Spithill (Luna Rossa '07, OneWorld '03, Young Australia '00) is likely to continue as Helmsman and possibly Skipper under the umbrella of four-time America's Cup winner Russell Coutts.  Coutts publicly said he is evaluating his own role within the team for the 34th Defense.  Though Coutts would probably continue his duties as CEO of the team, with a particular focus on technology and crew development, he has not committed yet to any specific sailing duties.  It was announced in late December 2010 that automotive manufacturer BMW would end their eight-year-long sponsorship, and the team reverted to Oracle Racing, and later Oracle Team USA. 
Oracle Team USA 2013 America's Cup Site | Team Blog (inactive but online)

Other Defender Candidates:
See Cam Lewis entry below.

Background:
Golden Gate YC is the 34th Defender of the America's Cup. The club was represented in 2007 and 2010 by BMW Oracle Racing.  From the earliest defense of the America's Cup until the trophy was defended by Royal New Zealand YS in 2000, the defending club's practice was to hold trials among several yachts or teams to select the best to represent them, and not incidentally to train and tune the defender candidates in the process.  In 2000 and 2003, defender Team New Zealand, representing Royal New Zealand YS, held "in-house" contests between their own two boats and crews, but RNZYS did not field independent competitors to vie for the role of defender, meaning no formal defense trials were held.  In 2007, Alinghi followed the same pattern.  For Alinghi's intended defense in 2009, the absence of an arm's length defender was the logic that the team attempted to employ to justify the defender competing against the challengers during their selection series, an intention that met with heated objection from challengers and America's Cup fans alike.  Oracle stated that they were encouraging participation of additional Defender Candidates from the US to compete against them for the role of representing Defender Golden Gate YC, and Oracle has said repeatedly since winning the Cup that in any case the Defender will not race in the Challenger Selection Series.

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Officially Accepted Challengers:

Notices of Challenge from additional teams were accepted from November 1, 2010 until March 31, 2011.

New Challengers for 2013:

Artemis Racing | Royal Swedish YC (Kungliga Svenska Segel Sällskapet) SWE
This is a new team, but led by America's Cup veteran Paul Cayard as CEO and accompanied by crew list deep in experienced Cup sailors, Artemis is anything but a newcomer to the top level of the sport.  Backed by Torbjörn Törnqvist, team Chairman and a co-founder of oil company Gunvor Internationl B.V., in fall of 2010 Artemis  recruited top-name design and engineering staff, too.  Designer is Juan Kouyoumdjian (BMW Oracle '07, Prada '03, Le Defi '00-'95), boatbuilder Killian Bushe, plus Santiago Lange, and three-time America's Cup winner Tom Schnackenberg (TNZ '00-'95, Australia II '83). 

Active in the WSTA, indeed with Cayard serving as the association's first President, Artemis raced at the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas in Nice, Auckland, La Maddalena, and Dubai.  Artemis also maintained an Audi MedCup team through 2010, winning the Championship in their 2007 debut and finishing fourth, third, and fifth in the last three years, but appears set to shift their focus to the America's Cup, dropping the MedCup activities in the 2011 season and competing in the multihull Extreme Sailing Series instead.  Terry Hutchinson will Skipper for the ESS, and is expected to be the skipper on the team's America's Cup catamarans.  The team trained in Florida on two Extreme 40 catamarans, as seen in this photo gallery

Törnqvist worked closely with Russell Coutts, now Oracle CEO, in 2007 to get Artemis Racing's MedCup campaign off on the right track, along with leadership from Oracle's John Kostecki.  In addition to helming duties for Cayard, Terry Hutchinson (ETNZ '07, Stars&Stripes '03, AmericaOne '00), and Cameron Appleton (K-Challenge '04-'05 LVA, ETNZ '00-'95), Törnqvist has also been at the wheel of the MedCup boat. 

The team submitted their Notice of Challenge on November 1, 2010, the first day possible (apparently the first additional challenger to do so) and Artemis held a Press Conference November 8 in Stockholm to detail their plans.  Replay of the webcast is available from Artemis and at the America's Cup web site.  With the resignation of Mascalzone Latino, per the provision of the Protocol for the 34th Defense of the America's Cup Artemis automatically stepped into the role of Challenger of Record.  Key additions: Terry Hutchinson as skipper (until December 2012); Iain Percy, late of Team Origin, as tactician.  Artemis Team Site and Twitter Feed

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Energy Team Challenge | Yacht Club de France  FRA
Yacht Club de France is represented by Energy Team, the challenge effort initiated by the Peyron brothers.  Loïck Peyron will skipper and head the design team.  Yann Guichard is secondary helmsman.  Other crew includes Yves Loday, Jean-Christophe Mourniac, and Thierry Fouchier, who was Aft Pit onboard BMW Oracle's USA-17 for America's Cup 33 and has been crewing with Aleph in the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas.  Yann Penfornis will manage the design and building process.  Target budget was €60-75 million over three years.  Plans to build two AC72s and acquire two AC45s.  Read Debut Press Release 

On August 1, 2012, the team announced that they did not have the funding necessary to build thier new yacht as intended, but would continue to compete in the America's Cup World Series, and enter a Youth Series team as well, with the goal of becoming an America's Cup challenger for the next defense of the America's Cup instead.  Read Energy Challenger withdrawal announcement

In early May 2011, an interview with Bruno Peyron at Course Au Large said that despite making progress on technical, sporting, and marketing issues, that funding for the campaign was not finalized, with Peyron mentioning that Energy was asking America's Cup organizers about the possibility that his team might not compete in the America's Cup World Series (ACWS) for 2011-12 to be raced in the one-design AC45 yachts, and instead concentrate Energy's resources on designing and building their AC72 yachts.  The structure of the 2013 America's Cup and the ACWS, as delineated in the Protocol for the 34th Defense, requires attendance at the ACWS for all.  Allowing a team to skip ACWS events for the 2011-12 period seems problematic at first glance from a rules perspective, since the Protocol currently disqualifies a competitor from this Cup cycle after the second failure to attend a regatta (see Protocol Article 22.1(ii)), although the Protocol could be amended further.

Training since December 2010 on DNA beach cats, and plan to use a variety of other multihulls in their preparation.  The first AC72 was intended to be built at Multiplast in Vannes, France, beginning in September 2011 for an April 2012 launch.  Loïck and Bruno Peyron, longtime multihull experts, first confirmed October 25, 2010, that they were pursuing a challenge, and planned to spend the upcoming three months securing resources.  See stories at The Daily Sail and Sport.fr (in French).  The idea was also floated at the time that the Peyron team might at some later point consider combining with another of the French 2013 challengers, mentioning All4One by name.  Officially announced February 2, 2011, and debuted in a press conference in Paris on February 9.  Energy Team Web Site

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China Team/Xin Yi Dai | Mei Fan Yacht Club CHN
Representatives of a potential Chinese team visited Auckland in February, 2011, and sailed on the AC45 prototype.  Thierry Barot, carrying the title of General Manager, and designer Yann Dabbadie also met with America's Cup officials and say that they hope to begin training soon.  "Xin Yi Dai " translates as "New Generation".  China Team was announced as an Official Challenger on March 28, 2011.  Read Press Release and Watch Announcement Video  Led by Chinese businessman Wang Chao Yong, the team intends to recruit foreign experts, but feature Chinese sailors as much as possible.  The team has competed at the ACWS Regattas through Venice, in May, 2012, skipped the ACWS Newport in June, but returned for the regattas in San Francisco in August and October of 2012.
Team Web Site

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Emirates Team New Zealand | Royal New Zealand YS  NZL
On April 21, Grant Dalton, CEO of ETNZ, finally gave official confirmation of the team's commitment to challenge for the 2013 America's Cup, also announcing a $36M NZD contribution ($28.6M USD/€19.8M) from the NZ government, and the addition of Nespresso as sponsor, joining name sponsor Emirates Airlines, Toyota New Zealand, and Omega watches.  Read Stories at NZ Herald and Stuff.co.nz

Budget overall for 2013 appears to be in the $150M NZD ($80-85M USD) range, based on comments by Dalton that the government's portion of the budget is less than 20% of their total funds.  Dalton also pointed out that even with the other partners, the Nespresso sponsorship was critical, and that the team had only stayed in business with the help of several private benefactors. See ETNZ Afloat at Last at NZ Herald

ETNZ had been an official entrant since November, 2010, with their paperwork in place and an initial entry fee paid for the 2013 event, though publicly Dalton said only that a final decision would be made in early 2011 once the team had done further due-diligence, and ETNZ did not even formally admit their official status until March.  Dalton believed the budget for a challenge would be about the same level as ETNZ spent in Valencia last time, though also telling the NZ Herald in October that "We might be wrong about that, so we still have work to do before we make a decision."  

The team said March 16, 2011, that Emirates Airlines would continue to sponsor the team.  The sponsorship announcement, coming at the same time that ETNZ took delivery of their AC45 yacht seemed to clinch their plans for 2013, yet publicly Dalton again hedged about the team's intentions and a full commitment still awaited: "In the meantime we are developing the sailing team; the design team is working through concepts for the AC72 catamaran and we are continuing meeting with several potential sponsors," said Dalton.  Securing sufficient funding seemed a reason for hesitation in declaring their 2013 challenge, along with considerations that response to the Christchurch earthquake of February, 2011, could affect the government's financial support for the team.

After GGYC on New Year's Eve 2011 named San Francisco as the location for the 2013 America's Cup, Dalton explained that the choice suited his team well, and the status of ETNZ's entry now depended on finding suitable sponsorship by March 31.  See "Dalton Happy with Cup Venue" at NZ Herald

Despite public statements that the team had yet to decide about a challenge, Paul Cayard mentioned in the January 2011 issue of Seahorse magazine that the Kiwis had actually filed their challenge in November, and Oracle Racing members said in late January that TNZ was in line to receive one of the early AC45's, which is a privilege only of officially accepted teams.  ETNZ in February attended official Competitor Forums intended for confirmed teams, settling the issue for most Cup observers. See story at Sail-World

Also notwithstanding the official position, four French multihull design experts, Guillaume Verdier, Hervé Penformis, Romaric Neyhousser, and Benjamin Muyl, agreed in fall 2010 to join the Kiwi team, according to a report at Voiles et Voiliers.  In October, 2010, Magnus Clarke, wingsail designer from the I4C (aka "The Little America's Cup"), was said to sign on with ETNZ, along with Steve Killing, designer of the C-Class cat Canaan which Clarke campaigned to win the 2010 event.  In April, 2011, the presence of Gino Morelli and Pete Melvin on the design staff was formally acknowledged, too. Read more at Sail-World

ETNZ not only has the longest record in the America's Cup of any active team, but preceding 2010 the Kiwis were the Defender or Challenger in the previous four Matches stretching back to San Diego in 1995, and they narrowly missed becoming the challenger in 1992.  Hurt by the departure of many key team members following the 2000 Defense, and underachieving against Alinghi in 2003's heart-breaking loss of the Cup, ETNZ brought in Grant Dalton to put their efforts back on track for 2007.  With Dalts as Managing Director, ETNZ won the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup to become the 32nd Challenger.  They took two races from the Defender, and nearly won a third. 

The sailing side has been hard at work, too, on the transition to catamarans.  Dean Barker sailed a multihull ETNZ entry in an Extreme Sailing Series (ESS) regatta in Almeria, Spain, in October, 2010.  While the team said at the time that although that regatta was a helpful learning experience, they had no plans at that time to race Extreme 40s in 2011.  TNZ eventually did decide to enter an ESS team with Dean Barker (Skipper), Glenn Ashby (Tactician), James Dagg (Trimmer), and Jeremy Lomas (Bowman).  ETNZ also has picked up sponsor Camper to fund a Volvo Ocean Race campaign for 2011-2012, a parallel program to their America's Cup effort that is intended to help keep the team's design and sailing staff sharp.  Key staff includes: Dean Barker as Skipper (since 2000), Adam Beashel as Strategist.  Significant changes since 2007: Added Ray Davies as Tactician.  Notable Departures: Hamish Pepper, tactician.  ETNZ's America's Cup record: Challenger (won 5-0), 1995; Defender (won 5-0), 2000; Defender, 2003 (lost 0-5); Challenger, 2007 (lost 2-5).  Emirates Team New Zealand Blog | ETNZ America's Cup Team Site

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Luna Rossa Challenge (Prada) | Circolo della Vela Sicilia  ITA
After adding America's Cup-winning helmsman Ed Baird (Alinghi '07-'10, Young America '00) to the boat in 2010, expectations for Luna Rossa in the next Cup cycle were again high.  Joining veterans Torben Grael and other talented sailors who helped LR reach the LVC Final in 2007 against ETNZ, the Italian team looked to be a serious contender this time out as well.  A member of the WSTA, Luna Rossa was actively racing at the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in Auckland in 2009, and at the Louis Vuitton Trophy races in Nice and La Maddalena in 2010 with a crew including Matteo Plazzi, Max Sirena, and Robert Schiedt.  The team's web site indicated they planned to compete at the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Dubai, UAE, November 13-18, 2010.  Massimilano Sirena has been skipper for LR's Audi MedCup campaign.  Outside of America's Cup Class racing, Luna Rossa also won the 2009 Middle Sea Race and finished second overall in the 2009 Fastnet.  Having dominated the challenger fleet in 2000 to win the LVC Final against Paul Cayard and AmericaOne in the epic nine-race "streetfight" series, as well as overcoming a shaky start in 2003 to go on the semi-finals, the "Silver Bullet" of Prada/Luna Rossa has nearly always been a force to reckon with.

All of which made it even more surprising in June 2010 when Patrizio Bertelli told Italian media outlets that the team would not be involved in the 34th America's Cup.  Luna Rossa did later compete in several Mediterranean events such as the Audi MedCup and the team fielded an X40 catamaran, for a 2011 Extreme Sailing Series entry.  Bertelli at earlier points had also declared his team to be out of the 2007 America's Cup before reversing course, so many Cup fans in Italy and around the world held out hope that a change of heart might bring this top team back to America's Cup competition.  Officially, in September, 2010, the team said only that "future plans will be decided in coming months."  When the March challenge entry deadline passed, though, Luna Rossa appeared to be out of the America's Cup for 2013.  One slight hope appeared in June, with an unnamed team's press conference unveiling scheduled close to the timing of an IPO from Bertelli's company, a transaction which might have provided ample funding for Luna Rossa's Cup campaign, but it was not the case and the chance for a LR entry for 2013 looked to be nearly zero.  Then on October 19, 2011, to much surprise an announcement (pdf) from Prada was published on the Hong Kong stock exchange that stated the company was in negotiations with Luna Rossa to sponsor the team for the 2013 America's Cup with a budget of €40 million.  Official confirmation of the team's intentions, or whether the deal has been finalized, has yet to be made public.  A report at LiveSicilia.it on October 29 said that GGYC has accepted the team's Notice of Challenge, and that Max Sirena and Ben Ainslie could be skipper and helmsman, and on November 2 Luna Rossa officially announced their return to the America's Cup for 2013.

Named "Luna Rossa Challenge 2013" this time out, the Italian effort will represent Circolo della Vela Sicilia.  The team will try to offset their late start in a very steep development cycle by cooperating with ETNZ in design and technology development, which is permitted under the rules of the 2013 America's Cup.

Notable departures: Francesco De Angelis, long-time Luna Rossa Skipper ('00, '03, '07), has not been active with the team in recent years; James Spithill, who distinguished himself at the helm in 2007, soon after left for BMW Oracle where he now looks the heir to Russell Coutts as skipper; and though Ed Baird, Alinghi's 2007 Helmsman, participated in the LVT/WSTA races as recently as June, 2010, his name does not currently appear on LR crew lists, and Baird announced in late October, 2010, that his 2011 plans center on Quantum Racing's MedCup entry.

Luna Rossa's America's Cup record: Challenger, 2000 (lost 0-5); Challenger of Record, 2003; Louis Vuitton Cup Finalist, 2007 (lost 0-5 to ETNZ).  Luna Rossa Team Site and America's Cup Team Site

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Officially Accepted But No Longer Participating:
 


White Tiger Challenge | Sail Korea Yacht Club  KOR
White Tiger Challenge was the first Korean entry ever into the America's Cup.  Inclusion of the Sail Korea YC in ACEA's April 1 announcement about Venezia was indirectly the first confirmation of Korea's status.  Dong Young-Kim is Team President.  The white tiger is a national symbol of Korea.  It was announced June 18, 2012, that Team Korea had paid their entry fee for the 2013 America's Cup.  No construction on an AC72 yacht was ever detected, and as 2013 progressed, with the other teams sailing their new AC72's but no Korean boat in sight, Team Korea officially confirmed in March 2013 that they were not going to be a challenger for 2013.  Korea also withdrew from America's Cup World Series activities, namely the April 2013 regatta in Naples, but expressed an intent to make another try for AC52, the next America's Cup. Team Web Site

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Aleph Team France | Aleph Yacht Club  FRA
Bertrand Pacé is a key leader for this team managed by principal Philippe Ligot, but Pacé does not plan to be helmsman.  In a Press Conference October 1, 2010, the team said their intent was to hire 20 sailors, and maybe recruit other French multihull experts like Loïck Peyron.  One such addition since is Alain Gaultier, who joined the team December 1, 2010, bringing multihull experience that extends to ocean racing and inland lakes on top of his participation in Alinghi's catamaran defense against BMW Oracle.  Budget target said to be in the €50 million (US $69.6 million) range, with an internal deadline to have 75% of funding in-hand before the challenge notice period closes.  Active in the WSTA, Aleph raced in the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas in Nice in 2009, and in Auckland and La Maddalena in 2010.  Although in the LVT Aleph's association was with the Yacht Club de France, as an America's Cup 2013 challenger Aleph Team France represented Aleph Yacht Club, which, though recently created, appeared to comply with terms of the America's Cup Deed of Gift.  The team announced December 10, 2010, that their Notice of Challenge had been officially accepted by GGYC.  Via Twitter Aleph quickly denied a report that surfaced on March 9, 2011, suggesting the team was withdrawing.  On April 20, 2011, Phillippe Ligot told canyousea.com that funding for a competitive budget needed to be in place by April 30, 2011, and that the team had still not reached that goal.  Despite those reports, Aleph went on compete in the fall 2011 America's World Series events in Cascais, Plymouth, and San Diego. 

Aleph signaled in March, 2102, however, that they weren't meeting funding goals and expressed hope that they could instead continue as an ACWS team with an eye toward fielding a full challenge for the 35th Defense of the America's Cup in possibly 2015 or 2016.  Unfortunately, with the 2012 ACWS Naples regatta approaching, the America's Cup Event Authority confirmed April 4, 2012, that Aleph was withdrawing from the 2013 America's Cup and the ACWS.  In their public statements via americascup.com Aleph team leadership cited difficulty in fundraising, but praised the new format of the regattas.  "Although this new circuit is starting to fulfill its promises and in spite of very promising sporting results against the best teams," said Hugues Lepic, Chairman, "the economic environment does not allow us to go all the way to San Francisco in 2013.” 

"We fought hard," said Philippe Ligot, CEO, "with all our drive and enthusiasm, to find a budget allowing us to participate in the final phase of the 34th America’s Cup.  We did not want to compete with resources that would not allow us to credibly challenge the best teams.  France has, without a doubt, all the sporting, technical and managerial talent to win the Cup but the current economic environment makes funding a commercial team extremely difficult."  Aleph Team Web Site (unavailable)

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Green Comm Challenge | Club Nautico de Valencia (ESP)
Announced June 23rd, 2011, solving the mystery of the last unnamed team in the 2013 America's Cup.  Led by Francesco de Leo, with Luca Devoti as Sports Team Manager, the challenge will train in Valencia with crew selection trials coming in September particularly focused on recruiting young sailors.  Target budget is €40M.  Expo 2015, a Universal Exposition to take place in Milan in 2015, has been announced as a sponsor of the challenge.   Though key leadership is Italian, and organizers say they will draw from talent across Europe, the RCNV effort is presented as the Spanish Challenge.  Vasilij Žbogar was helmsman on the team's AC45 in August 2011 in Cascais.  Others bringing plenty of top Finn class experience include Jonathan Lobert, Ed Wright, Zach Railey, Anthony Nossiter, Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic, Alex Muscat, Jorge Zarif, and Paul Hobson.  Green Comm raced in the first three America's Cup World Series events, but declined to enter the first 2012 event, in Naples in April.  The Protocol rules do not disqualify a team that misses only one ACWS regatta, but the move created uncertainty about their continued prospects for the 2013 America's Cup, especially when published plans for the following ACWS in Venice did not incorporate the Spanish team into planning and logistics.  March 1, 2012, team representatives reaffirmed Green Comm's intention to build and race their AC72 yacht, telling Scuttlebutt Sailing News: "There has been speculation whether Green Comm Racing will have an AC72 yacht.  I can tell you that not only will we have an AC72 yacht, we are fully committed to that, we are not involved just for fun or to play."  Despite that statement, on April 17th news reports confirmed Green Comm's withdrawal.  There is further background (see America's Cup Jury Notice JN038 (pdf)) involving payments still owed by the team as a result of a collision between AC45 yachts in Plymouth last September, and Green Comm in fact is reported by the America's Cup Jury to have submitted their notice to withdraw on April 10th.  Team Website: Green Comm Racing (unavailable)

In 2009, associated with yacht club Circolo Vela Gargnano (CVG), Green Comm proposed that they face off against GGYC/BMW Oracle's 90-foot trimaran USA-17 for the right to challenge Alinghi in the 2010 America's Cup, a right GGYC had spent nearly two years in court to establish.  GGYC was under no obligation to face Green Comm or other teams first and, not surprisingly, declined the offer.  CVG was a challenger candidate in 2007, with their representative +39, finishing 9th of 11 challenger entries, with a 5-15 record in the first two rounds of the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup.  Green Comm organizers point out that their 2013 effort is not directly connected to +39 or CVG.

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Venezia Challenge | Club Canottieri Roggero di Lauria  ITA
Officially confirmed on April 1.  Read Press Release   Venezia announced on their website March 29 that the team's official Notice of Challenge had been filed.  In mid-September 2010 this Italian start-up responded with favorable comments about the new protocol and the multihulls that will race in the 34th Defense, stating that they were beginning a fundraising phase in support of their intended challenge.  On December 16, a message from the team noted that backers Carlo Magna, Emanuela Pulcino, and Elio Faravelli, Team CEO, had met with the Mayor Of Venice regarding cooperation, and that the team intended on entering the America's Cup.  Cesare Pasotti is Team Manager.  Announced February 11 that the yacht club they were representing was Societá Canottieri Marsala, but per the team's announcement on March 29, Venezia is now associated with Club Canottieri Roggero di Lauria in Palermo.  Venezia affirmed in early May, 2011, that they had paid their $200,000 performance bond, and were in line to take delivery their AC45 yacht on May 8, the seventh boat of the class.  Tovar Mirsky, a 25-year-old from Australia, was named helmsman on June 6, 2011, and Ganaga Bruni was announced as a Team Coach.  On July 25, 2011, however, America's Cup organizers announced via Press Release that Venezia was unable to meet commitments required need to remain an official challenger candidate for the 2013 match and had been excused from participating in the event, including the ACWS regattas and the Louis Vuitton Cup.  Venezia Team Site

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Team Australia | Multihull YC of Queensland  AUS
The challenge was officially accepted January 11, 2011, and publicly announced on February 15.  When America's Cup organizers announced the current teams on June 15, 2011, though, Team Australia was not included, with the implication that Australia might not be proceeding as a challenger candidate for 2013.  Team representative Peter Baker stated June 16 that the team was finalizing legal requirements and still hoped to go forward for the 2013 event.

A Sydney sailor and businessman, Baker came forward February 18th as one of the backers of the effort, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.  Adam South, Neville Wittey, Jason Waterhouse, Lisa Chamberlin, Steve Brewin, Taylor Booth, Chris Caldecoat, and Josh McKnight were noted by Sail-World as the sailors taking a turn on the new AC45 in Auckland, representing a variety of experience and ages in multhulls, skiffs, and some match racing to boot.  Budget will rely on fundraising, seeking Australian corporate and private patrons, with the first hurdle to raise enough money to secure an AC45 multihull.  Team Australia is representing Multihull YC of Queensland, it was revealed February 23, several days after the announcement of the challenge's acceptance.

Baker's involvement helps confirm Team Australia as an extension of the YuuZoo effort that emerged in December, 2010.  On December 13, the Daily Telegraph reported that Ludde Ingvall, a two-time winner of the Sydney-to-Hobart Race, was exploring the feasibility of a challenge from down under.  It was announced December 21 that they had filed their Notice of Challenge with Golden Gate YC.  Surprisingly, Ludde Ingvall was quoted February 16 at The Australian.com saying that he wasn't associated with the Team Australia effort, and Peter Baker clarified in the Sydney Morning Herald on February 18 that Ingvall had helped in setting up the syndicate, but was no longer involved. 

In December, Ingvall told The Australian that a successful challenge could be done for a lot less than $50 million USD.  Ingvall discussed the project's goal in depth in this interview (10 minutes) at YouTube.  The syndicate is focused on creating a "truly Australian" team and providing opportunities for Australian professional sailors while fostering the growth of youth sailing programs at home as well.  Staff includes Dario Valenza (Project Manager).  Team Australia Web Site (unavailable)

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Three Unnamed TeamIdentity Not Announced
Three teams that submitted Notices of Challenge accepted by Golden Gate YC did not disclose their identities, and also apparently failed to satisfy financial deadlines since they were not confirmed as competitors by Golden Gate YC in their June 15 Press Conference.  An additional entry that was not confirmed June 15 was Team Australia, noted above, though the team soon afterwards said that they were in the process of finalizing legal and funding issues.  The remaining three teams, though, are presumed out of the 2013 America's Cup at the present, though there are provisions whereby they could potentially compete in the America's Cup World Series.

As the early challenge deadline closed, ACEA announced on April 1 that additional teams had submitted their entry documents, but their identities not publicly revealed at the time.  Shortly afterward, Venezia Challenge's entry was termed official, and on April 6, Korea's.  GGYC's policy is to keep the names of submitted challengers confidential in order to allow the teams to coordinate their own public announcements.  Speculation varies as to true identities.  Canada and Russia were the most common guesses.  According to James Boyd of the Daily Sail, ACEA's Richard Worth said that none of the unknown challenges are from the United Kingdom.  Team Australia was for several weeks an unnamed-yet-official team following acceptance of their Notice of Challenge in January.  Team New Zealand was unnamed until mid-March, though they filed their Notice in November and had access to competitors meetings and the AC45 in January and February before acknowledging that their paperwork was in place, though see below for Grant Dalton's comments on their status.  China Team revealed their official entry on March 28, and Korea on March 29, without disclosing their date of entry.

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Resigned:

Mascalzone Latino | Club Nautico di Roma ITA (Original Challenger of Record for 2013)
Team President and Sponsor Vincenzo Onorato was a staunch and outspoken supporter of BMW Oracle during the legal and public relations battles that took place between the American team and the former defender from 2007-2010.  Onorato was particularly concerned about maintaining the special character of the regatta and respecting its traditions and history while maintaining good sportsmanship in the modern era, making CNdR and Mascalzone's acceptance as Challenger of Record a natural step for the 34th America's Cup.  The team was active at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Regattas, led by Gavin Brady, with an afterguard including Morgan Larson, Flavio Flavini, and Cameron Dunn, among others.  Audi has been a sponsor of Mascalzone's LVT entry, and may continue to do so for the America's Cup.  Sadly, Mascalzone Latino resigned from the 2013 America's Cup on May 12, 2011, citing difficulty securing the budget they believed they needed to be a competitive challenger. Read Letter from Vincenzo Onorato explaining their resignation. Masclazone Latino Team Web Site

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Challenger Candidates from 2007:
 

Luna Rossa Challenge (Prada) | Yacht Club Punta Ala ITA
See Luna Rossa entry above under Officially Accepted Challengers.

Areva/K-Challenge
See All4One entry below.
 

Desafío Español  ESP
Competed in the Audi MedCup in 2009, but has not been recently active as an America's Cup team.
 

+39 Challenge | Circolo Vela Gargnano ITA
"Piu Trentanove" was not active as a team in recent years and was not expected to challenge again. Their ACC yacht was for sale as of late 2010.  Named for the international telephone code for Italy, (formerly Clan Des Team).  A persistent and unconfirmed rumor was that another group associated with CVG was interested in a multihull challenge, which turned out to be true (see Green Comm Challenge).
 

Victory Challenge | Gamla Stans Yacht Sällskap SWE
The Swedish team has been quiet since 2007, though they did submit an entry for the aborted 2009 regatta. Team Site (offline)
 

Shosholoza (South African Challenge) | Royal Cape YC RSA
Captain Salvatore Sarno, the principal of this crowd-pleasing team, told an Italian audience in mid-December 2010 that they would not be a challenger for the 2013 America's Cup, according to a report (in Italian) at Zerogradinord.it.  Team Site (offline)
 

UITG | Deutscher Challenger YC GER
United Internet Team Germany has not been active since 2007, and contracts with crew and staff were reported to have expired in 2008.  A statement was issued October 5, 2010, that they would not be a challenger for 2013.  The team's web site appears to be closed to the public.
 

China Team | Qindao International YC CHN
Had not been active in the America's Cup since 2007, but China returns to challenge for 2013 with an announcement on March 28, 2011, that their Notice of Challenge has been officially accepted.  See China Team Entry above
 

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Hopefuls: Potential New Challenger Hopefuls for 2013 or Beyond:

Active:

Ben Ainslie Racing | Royal Cornwall YC GBR
When Team Origin, billed as the British America's Cup Team, pulled the plug in October 2010, two reasons were cited either directly or in press reports: money and the commitments that key sailing team members including Ben Ainslie had to 2012 Olympic campaigns.  Ainslie, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, had been Team Origin's skipper and helmsman.  On January 6, 2012, advance word came from "Ben Ainslie Racing" of an upcoming press conference and web broadcast on January 10, to announce the sailor's "post-Olympic" plans.  Images of an Ainslie-liveried AC45 and associated video also turned up around the web.  Speculation ran from the launch of an entire new British challenger to just Ainslie launching a team to compete in the AC45 catamarans, but not the America's Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup, which is permitted under the rules.

A story January 9, 2012, by Kate Laven at The Telegraph said instead that Ainslie will be joining Oracle Racing, but competing on his own AC45 to possiblly flush out backing for a full-on challenger campaign in the following America's Cup.  On January 10, 2012, at his press conference Ainslie confirmed that he has signed with Oracle for the 2013 America's Cup and is not mounting his own independent challenge this time around, but is looking to do so for the 35th Defense.  Ainslie will race an AC45 yacht in the America's Cup World Series, beginning in San Francisco in August, 2012, and play a role in Oracle's defense of the America's Cup.

Starting a new challenge effort seemed a pretty difficult task at this late point in the America's Cup cycle, but with enough money and some shared design efforts, as permitted for this edition of the Cup, it wasn't impossible to put a boat on the starting line.  The return of a British team to America's Cup racing would probably have been a welcome sight for fans and organizers alike, but considering that Ainslie's Olympic plans run into late summer, a very capable management organization would have had to be in place almost instantly, and if Ainslie was to skipper, he would have had half the multihull racing time his competition did.  As for building a new AC72, being competitive against teams that have 12-15 months head start in a 30-month window, and will be launching boats this summer, really isn't in the cards.  Ainslie said as much at his press conference: "Have to be very clear we have absolutely no intention whatsoever of competing as a challenger for the 34th Americas Cup, you know it's just not realistic in the timeframe that we have in terms of putting the team together, designing and building an AC72."

Funding for the AC45 effort is coming from Larry Ellison, according to Ainslie, and based on his press conference comments is at least in the €3 million per season range.  BAR will be representing the Royal Cornwall YC, which Ainslie has been associated with since he was a junior sailor.  Details of who will crew with Ainslie on the BAR AC45, and Ainslie's function within Oracle's defense activities will be forthcoming.

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Formerly Active:

All4One (formerly Areva/K-Challenge) | Cercle de la Voile de Paris/Kieler Yacht-Club  FRA/GER
All4One added Jochen Schümann (Alinghi '07-'03, Fast 2000 '00) as Skipper, who had been a mainstay of the 2003 and 2007 Alinghi teams before departing to field a German team that tried to get off the ground following the 2007 Cup.  Schumann also brought Matti Paschen, Michael Muller with him from "Team Germany", not to be confused with United Internet Team Germany or Audi Sailing Team Germany, all of which are separate entities.  All4One was active in the WSTA Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas, finishing third in La Maddalena and fifth in Nice and Auckland.  A4O also participated in the Audi MedCup circuit in 2010.  Since 2007, All4One has also included John Cutler, and Sébastien Col (Areva '07, Le Defi '03-'00) on the helm.  Said to be considering an Extreme40 catamaran campaign for 2011 to build multihull skills.  Stéphane Kandler is Managing Director, has mentioned feasibility of a one-boat campaign for €36 million budget. 

The last week of January 2010, All4One announced a three-year sponsorship from Audi for their MedCup TP52 campaign, to be known as "Audi Sailing Team powered by All4One", but so far has given no specifics of their America's Cup plans, if any.  The team is affiliated with two yacht clubs in two countries, Cercle de la Voile de Paris and Kieler Yacht-Club, which will likely have to be resolved when they enter the 2013 Cup, and most recent signs point to Germany being the most probable.  Reports in late March suggested that sponsorship was in place and an official announcement could be imminent, but the news turned out to involve other racing and though leaders still talk of making an eventual tilt at the America's Cup, the team's near-term focus now looks to be elsewhere.  Areva was a Challenger Candidate for the 2007 America's Cup.  All4One Team Website

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Synergy Russian Sailing Team RUS
Coming to the LVT from the Audi MedCup circuit, Synergy put the experienced Karol Jablonski behind the wheel of an America's Cup Class yacht for the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas and placed second in La Maddalena (losing only 2-3 to ETNZ in the Final) and third in Nice, beating Team Origin.  Founded by Valentin Zavadnikov, and backed by a group of Russian businessmen, the team includes America's Cup veteran Josh Belsky in addition to a largely Russian crew.  Karol Jablonski was no longer helming the boat in October 2010, at the Audi MedCup Calgiari, and some observers were quick to interpret this as a sign that Synergy would not be a challenger for the 2013 America's Cup.  However, Synergy backer Mikhail Tuzov accepted a position on the board of America's Cup Race Management (ACRM) through at least May 31, 2011, indicating the Russian team is working on a challenger campaign, which is what Maxim Logutenko, Team Manager, confirmed in an interview with Sailing World in early October.  The team also plans to continue their Audi MedCup program in 2011.  Synergy backers hope to have a 2011 or 2012 America's Cup regatta held in Russia.  No word yet on which yacht club Synergy would represent.  Notable departure: Karol Jablonski, to Argo Challenge.  Synergy Team Web Site
 

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Red Maple Racing | Royal Canadian YC CAN
Rumors grew louder at the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Dubai in late November that a Canadian challenger might be returning to the America's Cup after a more than 20-year absence for the northern sailors.  On December 1, the Toronto Star reported that members of three Canadian yacht clubs were exploring the prospects of a combined America's Cup challenge for 2013.  Royal Canadian YC would be the challenging club, but cooperation from Royal Halifax YS and Royal Vancouver YC is part of the campaign.  Backed by a group including investment banker Kevin Reed, serving as Chair of RMR, and including Paul Henderson, a former head of ISAF, the team's initial talk was of a budget in the $30-45 million range (presumably Canadian dollars).  The intent is for a true national effort with an all-Canadian crew.  The organizers set a period of 60 days to firm up their feasibility evaluations, but there has been no public announcement of their direction.

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Additional Teams:
Twenty-four teams sent representatives to a meeting in Paris, France, on October 22, 2010.  Said to represent a combined 13 countries, the teams met with America's Cup Race Management (ACRM) and Event (ACEA) officials, who provided supporting information while the prospective teams worked on firming up their funding and staffing in hopes of becoming official challengers.  Although identities were kept confidential at that early stage, after the meeting Iain Murray, Regatta Director for ACRM, told Sail-World that the potential teams were primarily European, with an Asian contingent, too, but no Australian group attended.  The French sailing site Voiles et Voilers reported that there were representatives from Italy, Spain, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, and Switzerland, which list appears to vary slightly from ACRM's report.

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Rumored, Hinted, Imagined, Rejected, or Denied:

Potential Additional Defender Candidates:

Cam Lewis
Multihull expert Cam Lewis was working on organizing a second defender team, The Daily Sail reported in mid-October, 2010.

Africa Diaspora Maritime
Headed by Charles M. Kithcart, ADM submitted an application in March, 2011, seeking to become a Defender Candidate.  GGYC sent a letter April 15, 2011, notifying ADM that their application had been rejected.  In December, 2011, ADM filed a lawsuit claiming that their application had been rejected unfairly, and alleging various transgressions by GGYC.  GGYC for their part, pointed out that under the Protocol for the 2013 America's Cup, Article 8.3 allows them to review the applications of prospective Defender Candidates and accept those that it is satisfied have the resources necessary to have reasonable chance of winning a defender's series.  Further, nothing in the Deed of Gift requires GGYC as Defender to consider multiple Defender Candidates or to hold a selection series for choosing their representative to defend the Cup.  A series of filings in the court case building toward a hearing June 27, 2012, produced the usual tangle of claims and counter-claims, some focusing on arcane legal issues, and others staking out grossly varying interpretations of events and intentions. 

ADM asked the court for a list of remedies including: delaying the 2013 America's Cup to allow them time to design and build their boat; a defender series against current GGYC representative Oracle Team USA applying competition penalties against Oracle; financial damages from GGYC in excess of $1,000,000 USD; GGYC providing at least two AC45 yachts, valued in the millions of dollars, for ADM's use in ACWS competition; changes to the event organization for the America's Cup; and removal of GGYC as the Trustee (that is the Defender) of the America's Cup. 

GGYC in turn characterized ADM's suit as based on misapprehensions of the rights of a foreign Challenger as compared to a US team that might sail on behalf of the defending US yacht club.  While the Protocol gives GGYC no right to reject an intended challenging yacht club who fully complies with the both the 2013 entry requirements and the Deed of Gift, GGYC has their own discretion over who they select as their representative to defend the America's Cup and how that representative is chosen.  GGYC representatives have suggested that one of the motivations for the suit is monetary gain.  Some press reports state that funding for Kithcart's legal battle is coming from people who dislike Larry Ellison, and although Kithcart apparently confirms this scenario, he has not identified these donors. Africa Diaspora Maritime Team Site

The situation of an unaccepted would-be defender candidate disputing their status with the defending yacht club is not unprecedented.  In 1901, Thomas Lawson, despite being unaffiliated with the New York YC, built a radical but uninvited boat, Independence, with which he intended to defend the America's Cup.  The NYYC saw it otherwise.  While Lawson's situation is not identical to ADM's today, then, as now, under the Deed of Gift it was the domain of the defending yacht club to select their representative.  Read article at CupInfo: Lawson's Independence, Rockefeller, and the America's Cup

On January 18, 2013, the New York Supreme Court dismissed the case, with Justice Barbara Kapnick finding that GGYC had acted in good faith when they declined to accept ADM's application. See story at Thomson Reuters and access legal documents at NY Supreme Court Records On-Line Library (search case# 653419-2011).  ADM appealed the decision.

On June 25, 2013, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld two elements of the appeal, dismissing complaints against GGYC on the trust issues, but ruling that the breach of contract issue cannot be properly evaluated or dismissed by the Appellate Court at the current stage of proceedings, making it likely that further hearings would be needed before the Supreme Court.  ADM has begun the process for those hearings, but the Appellate Division ruling itself is being appealed as well by GGYC, filed July 18, 2013, pleading to New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, that the facts alleged by ADM do not support a breach of contract suit and such a suit should not rightly be a matter for the Supreme Court.

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Challengers:

Australia Simon Grosser
The possibility of another Ozzie team was being explored by Simon Grosser, with patronage from Sir James Hardy.
 

Mark Turner
Possible manager for a potential campaign on an aggressively leaner budget than many teams were first discussing in early Fall, 2010.  Turner thinks that a team budget even under the 36 million that All4One has floated could be competitive.  A report by Stuart Alexander at the Independent suggested this could be the nucleus of an enthusiast-centered campaign.
 

Austrian Team
Believed to have attended the October 22, 2010, competitors meeting in Paris, but no other details available at present.  Docktalk floated the idea that this challenge could involve sponsor Red Bull which supported repeat Olympic Gold Medalists Roman Hogara and Hans-Peter Steinacher as the Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team in the multihull Extreme Sailing Series.  The Austrian pair also helped James Spithill prepare for BMW Oracle Racing's 2010 America's Cup match.  They also become the point men for the Red Bull Youth America's Cup, helping to guide the selection process and encourage young teams, and in March 2013 announced they will form the core of an America's Cup World Series Team named "HS Racing" with support from Oracle.
 

Spanish Team
Reports in Spanish media in early February 2011 were that energy company Iberdrola had met with Valencian authorities in exploration of sponsoring a challenger.  Iberdrola was a sponsor of 2007 challenger Desafío Español.  Followups at El Mundo suggest that the company's interest is actually directed elsewhere and any America's Cup speculation was premature.

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Officially Declined

Unnamed Team Declined
A Notice from an unnamed entry was submitted before the March 31 deadline, and announced as one of 15 prospective entries (14 challengers plus the Defender's representative) for the 2013 America's Cup pending confirmation of their entry, but the challenge was eventually declined by Golden Gate YC after further evaluation according to Iain Murray, America's Cup Regatta Director, speaking to Sail-World in early May.  Murray did not reveal the reason for this decision by the Defender.  Presumably some aspect of the entry did not comply with terms of the Protocol for the 34th Defense of the America's Cup or the Deed of Gift.  If the rejected team has an objection to GGYC's decision, they can appeal to the America's Cup Jury, per Protocol Article 15.4 (g).  It has not been confirmed whether the declined team was a potential challenger or was ADM, cited above.

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Officially Withdrawn:

Post-2007 Teams

Azzurra | YC Costa Smerelda  ITA
With Francesco Bruni helming and Tommaso Chieffi as Tactician, this Italian team looked tough and competitive in the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas, taking first place in Nice, and third place in Auckland.  They decided, though, not to compete in the 2013 America's Cup.  Team Statement: Riccardo Bonadeo, President of Consorzio Azzurra and Commodore of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda: "Consorzio Azzurra is currently assessing the most viable strategy to ensure the continued growth and development of the team following the re-launch of the historic brand and our successful participation in the Louis Vuitton Trophy events of 2009 and 2010.  While a range of international races and circuits are under examination, at the moment it would be difficult to foresee the [Yacht Club Costa Smeralda] participating in the 34th America’s Cup.  Together with the rest of the international sailing community, we sincerely hope that the new protocol will lead to a fair, innovative and successful edition of the event."  Team Site

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Argo Challenge
Christian Giannini, Argo Executive Director, disclosed to Scuttlebutt Sailing on May 4, 2011, that Argo would not be a challenger for the 2013 America's Cup.  Argo was still seeking to create an affiliation with the event in another manner, though nothing official was announced.  This team initially emerged as the 2007 America's Cup was ending, having purchased the 12-meter yacht "French Kiss" (12 F-7), and beginning to assemble a team including disabled sailors.  In fall 2010 they re-affirmed their intent to challenge, this time in multi-hulls.  The team attended the 2013 America's Cup challenger forums in Paris and Dubai in the fall of 2010, and said that they intended to pursue a challenge for 2013.  Skipper is Lars Grael, two-time Olympic medalist and world champion, and brother of sailor Torben Grael; Antonio Spinelli is president of Argo Challenge.  Helmsman Karol Jablonski (Desafío Español, 2007) joined Argo on Feb 24.  Other staff include Ashley Tobin and Mark Hillman.  Read Press Release announcing 2013 Challenge.  Argo has support from IFDS, the International Federation for Disabled Sailing.  In Janaury, 2011, Argo reported that they were scouting San Francisco and working to sign sponsors.  Also, see Team Video and Team Site and read Press release from 2008 regarding Argo at the Rolex Maxi Challenge and the Paralympics.

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TeamOrigin | Royal Thames Yacht Club  GBR
This team debuted on the America's Cup landscape just before the 2007 America's Cup Match took place, and despite never having raced at that point, was an early bet to become Challenger of Record when the Swiss beat ETNZ in late June and July.  Alinghi instead chose a compliant local Spanish team as their Challenger of Record, running afoul of the requirements of the Deed of Gift.  Sir Keith Mills, Origin's leader, spent much of the next three years supporting the Defender's position, dismissing complaints of an unfair rules protocol that had most of the existing America's Cup teams inflamed, and saying that he would have signed the same agreement the Spanish did since his priorities were on the commercial opportunities.  Origin purchased one of Alinghi's former ACC yachts (SUI-75, their second 2003 boat which had been converted by Alinghi to the latest version of the class rule) for training and development, and signed several top British sailors to form the nucleus of their America's Cup challenge, including Ben Ainslie as skipper.  In May, 2010, Origin picked up Grant Simmer from Alinghi, where he had been Managing Director and Design Coordinator, to become the British CEO replacing Mike Sanderson.  Read Simmer Signing Announcement

Origin was a competitor in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series in February 2009 and its follow-on, the Louis Vuitton Trophy Series held in 2009 and 2010.  In late July, 2010, they announced a sponsorship agreement had been signed with Jaguar.  As recently as August, 2010, TeamOrigin hosted BMW Oracle Racing in the 1851 Cup, sailing around the Isle of Wight to honor the original yacht squadron event that set the America's Cup in motion.  Outside of the America's Cup and LVT realm, the team competed in the Audi MedCup series, and raced in Valencia at the Trofeo Desafío Español which was advertised as the annual regatta of the Spanish yacht club formed to play the role of Challenger of Record for Alinghi.  Origin's name was chosen as an allusion to the British heritage of the America's Cup, not just in the respect of England being the site of the first race for the trophy in 1851 (before it even became America's Cup), but also recalling that the RTYC was history's very first challenger in 1870.

However, on October 1, 2010, Team Origin announced that they would not enter the coming America's Cup.  Mills cited doubts about the commercial prospects for the team.  Not mentioned, though likely, contributing factors appear to be the conflict between Ben Ainslie's campaign for the 2012 London Olympic Games and the demands of a 2013 America's Cup match, and perhaps just as critically the lure of the Olympics for potential British sponsors of sailing.  The expected learning curve for multihulls, given the team's largely monohull-centered expertise, may have played a role, too, though it was also revealed in late October at Voiles et Voilers that an intended partner withdrew a €50 million sponsorship the day of the withdrawl announcement.  Team Site (unavailable)

Despite the Olympic commitments for Ainslie and other crew, in early January 2012, an announcement January 10 from Ben Ainslie Racing confirmed he will be involved the 2013 America's Cup, and will race his own AC45 entry in the America's Cup World Series.


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2007 and Previous

Alinghi | SNG  SUI
Officially announced that the team would not challenge on November 26, 2010, though the news likely surprised few as various negative comments had been floated in preceding months and former team members had noted that much staff was no longer under contract.  Alinghi's team president publicly took a wait-and-see position in regard to the Swiss team's plans throughout most of 2010, with a decision on challenging to depend on the evolving nature of the 2013 America's Cup as arranged by the Defender and the Challenger of Record.  Alinghi did not send a representative to the October, 2010, preliminary challenger briefing.  In practical terms, major talent was let go and hired by other teams after the team lost to BMW Oracle Racing in the 33rd America's Cup in February, 2010.  Bertarelli dismissed the idea of shifting his focus to another major ocean event like the Volvo Ocean Race, saying he prefers inshore racing.  The team was active in 2010 on the D35 multihull circuit, which is considering expanding from lake sailing onto the Med, and this along with the Extreme Sailing Series looked to be their direction at least for 2011 and 2012.  Notable departures: Grant Simmer, Managing Director and Design Director, to Team Origin and later Oracle Team USA; Ed Baird, 2007 winning helmsman, to Prada/Luna Rossa, since departed before their America's Cup racing resumed.

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