America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sports. It is awarded to the winner of the world’s best-known sailboat competition. A yacht from a defending country races against a yacht from a challenging country. The first yacht to win a certain number of races wins the cup. Races are held on a course off the coast of the defending nation every three or four years.
The cup gets its name from the American schooner America. In 1851, America defeated 14 British yachts in a race around the Isle of Wight to win a silver trophy. The yacht’s owners gave the trophy to the New York Yacht Club in New York City in 1857.
The New York Yacht Club successfully defended the cup in 16 challenges before the outbreak of World War II in 1939. In the final three prewar races, the competitors sailed large yachts called J-Class. Competition resumed in 1958 in a match sailed on 12-Meter yachts, which were much smaller than the J-Class.
In 1970, two countries challenged for the cup for the first time, requiring selection trials to determine who would race the defender. In 1983, Australia II defeated the New York Yacht Club Liberty and became the first challenger ever to win the America’s Cup. In 1987, the United States yacht Stars & Stripes defeated Australia’s Kookaburra III to return the cup to the United States.
Since 1992, competition has operated under a code of conduct and design specifications that are intended to ensure competitive races between evenly matched competitors. The current class is called AC75 (America’s Cup 75). The yachts are designed with specific lengths, weights, and sail areas. They are about 75 feet (23 meters) long, made of lightweight carbon fiber, and have a crew of 11. The first challenge in AC75 yachts took place in 2021 when the New Zealand yacht Emirates Team New Zealand defeated the Italian challenger Luna Rossa.
