bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

America's Cup organisers have vowed that the premier yacht-racing event will launch as planned next week despite protests over last-minute rule changes.
"I don't see any possibility of delay," America's Cup event authority chief executive Stephen Barclay said in San Francisco where the races will take place.
"No one is talking about not going out there and racing."
Four days of mediation over America's Cup rule changes - adopted in May for safety after the death of British sailor Andrew Simpson - ended on June 22 with no final resolution.
Sticking points included allowing a design change to catamaran "elevators," a part of the rudder that effects how high boats can rise out of the water and, by extension, how fast they can go.
"This provision has nothing to do with safety, it is purely a performance intervention," said a spokesman for Italian team Luna Rossa, which planned to file a formal protest within a few days.
"We will not accept it," he continued. "The race director has exceeded his authority."
Rule changes focused on boats, instead of things like safety gear for crews, fall under the category of "class" changes that can't be implemented without unanimous agreement from competitors, Luna Rossa argued.
Luna Rossa did not threaten to pull out of the Cup, saying "it was here to race."
Team New Zealand also said it would file a formal protest with the America's Cup international jury over proposed changes to the AC72 catamaran class rules.
Regatta director Iain Murray said he stood by all of his recommendations, although he admitted that in seeking to implement such changes without unanimous approval at this late date "we are probably taking an unprecedented step".
All members of the international jury should be in San Francisco next week. A gala Cup opening ceremony will take place as planned on July 4 and racing will begin on schedule a few days later, Barclay said.
Murray has included 37 proposed rule changes in an application with US Coast Guard officials for a marine permit, clearing the way for the event.
"If we get the marine permit, Iain will issue a regatta notice enforcing the rules," Barclay said. "I have every expectation that the teams will go to the jury about that, just as I have every expectation that we will be racing under Iain's rules."


America's Cup set to sail despite rule change turmoil

America's Cup Event Authority CEO Stephen Barclay. Photo: AFP

Sport

Other Sport

America's Cup organisers have vowed that the premier yacht-racing event will launch as planned next week despite protests over last-minute rule changes.
