After a day in which, from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, rumors and uncontrolled news chased each other, comes the official release of the America’s Cup Challenge Of Record. A statement that hints at a not-so-subtle tension between the Cagliari event organization and defender Team New Zealand.
THE COMMENT.
Cagliari, March 13, 2020 – Due to force majeure – following the declaration of Pandemic CoViD19 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and restrictions imposed by various governments – COR 36 (Challenge of Record n.d.r.) had to report that it was unable to organize the ACWS Sardinia-Cagliari event (April 23-26) on the scheduled date. He also proposed to the Defender that the event be moved to a new date.
The Defender issued a statement announcing the cancellation of the Sardinia-Cagliari ACWS without mentioning the proposal for a new event date and, in parallel, rejected the COR’s proposal without even discussing it.
COR 36 will address the Arbitration Panel requesting to confirm the moving of the Sardinia-Cagliari ACWS to a new date.
OUR ANALYSIS
The Challenge of Record, although Luna Rossa is de facto Luna Rossa in that it was the first to launch the challenge, is now a de facto entity that is external and independent of the teams, an entity that is charged with organizational duties and representing the challengers. The organization of the Cagliari regattas were under his “jurisdiction,” but obviously as of today there are no conditions to be able to hold such an event. From sources we interviewed comes the categorical willingness not to cancel the Cagliari regattas, but to obtain a shift of one or two months. After all, the interests at stake for the region of Sardinia, for Cagliari, for Italy, and for Luna Rossa are many. Tourism, ecnomic revenue, visibility of the event, but also an opportunity for a first confrontation on the water. Luna Rossa has no intention of giving up the Cagliari event, and if the other teams are not of the same mind, there is a risk of a bitter diatribe that could even have legal contours. We will know more in the coming weeks.
Mauro Giuffrè
