America's Cup 2013 - Administration and Organizing Entities of the America's Cup

The Players: Creating and Enforcing America’s Cup Rules for 2013

Defender and Trustee:
Strictly speaking, the Defender is the yacht club that holds the America's Cup, at present the Golden Gate YC (GGYC), also referred to as the Trustee. Oracle Team USA is GGYC's representative in the racing. "Defender" is also the term for the yacht that sails in the America's Cup Match against the Challenger.

Golden Gate YC manages America's Cup issues, per an agreement with Oracle Team USA, via a five-person committee of GGYC members, three of whom are also team members of OTUSA. Rights and responsibilities of the Trustee/Defender are addressed in the Protocol, but the basis for the roles of the Defender and Challenger stems from the Deed of Gift.

ACEA:
The America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA) was created by the 2013 Protocol to manage the commercial aspects of the 2013 America's Cup. Technically, ACEA is intended to act as an independent agent in these matters for the Trustee, Golden Gate YC. ACEA has no control of the racing issues, which fall under the jurisdiction of America's Cup Race Management (ACRM), and no authority over ACRM. ACEA is governed by a seven member board, with one of the members appointed jointly by the defender and the other competitors. Articles 4.1 and 4.2 of the Protocol lay out the primary duties of ACEA.

ACRM:
America's Cup Race Management (ACRM) was created, in the words of the 2013 Protocol, "to provide neutral, independent, professional, and fair race management for the Event." ACRM also appoints the Race Officers, the Measurement Committee, and the Umpires. The Race Officers make the on-the-water decisions about racing including starting and setting the race course.

ACRM may publish additional regulations that are consistent with rules, but cannot themselves publish rules that change the existing regatta documents such as the Protocol, The Class Rule, or the Racing Rules. See Protocol Article 4.3 (k).

In addition to the races themselves, ACRM manages the America's Cup Village and related infrastructure, plus the Meteorological Data System.

ACRM is governed by a five-member board, lead by the Regatta Director, who also holds the title of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). For the 2013 America's Cup, Iain Murray, a former America's Cup sailor, designer, and team leader who defended the Cup for Australia in 1987, was appointed as Regatta Director by the Defender and COR, who may also remove the Director if they agree. The other members of the board are one representative from the Defender, one from the Challenger of Record (COR), and two members selected by the Competitor Forum (which excludes the Defender and COR). Article 4.2 of the Protocol outlines the primary terms of reference for ACRM, with additional points elsewhere. ACRM was created for the 2013 America's Cup, and is set up as a legal entity with the intention the organization will continue into future Defenses.

America's Cup Jury:
The America's Cup Jury (ACJ) is a five-member board with broad authority appointed to settle disputes between parties in the America's Cup. The Jury hears protests involving the Racing Rules stemming from competition in the Louis Vuitton Cup or America's Cup. (No race protests were allowed for the America's Cup World Series.) The Jury also arbitrates conflicts and protests involving the teams, ACRM, ACEA, and related entities; and the Jury decides in matters of interpreting and applying the Protocol. The only exception from the Jury's scope is the AC72 Class Rule, with technical issues instead handled primarily by the Measurement Committee, though some Measurement Committee actions can also be brought before the Jury.

The Jury may fine, penalize, or even disqualify a team as they see fit, imposing what the Protocol calls "just and equitable" consequences even if no stated penalty exists in the rules for the infraction. Decisions of the Jury within the bounds of the 2013 Protocol are final. Decisions, directions to the parties involved, and other case-related documents all termed "Jury Notices" are posted here. Details of proceedings and submissions to the Jury are not normally made public. Basic outlines of Jury Procedures and administrative information are also posted on the Jury section of the Noticeboard.

The America's Cup Jury members are appointed, per the 2013 Protocol, by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). Jury members may be removed by agreement of Defender, COR, and a majority of the competitors, though ISAF and the remaining Jury members must approve any new appointees. Members are David Tillet (Chairman) of Australia, John Doerr of Great Britain, Josje Hofland of the Netherlands, Graham McKenzie of New Zealand, and Bryan Willis of Great Britain. All have previous experience on America's Cup Juries or Arbitration Panels. See detailed bios here (pdf)

See Protocol Article 15 for a complete discussion of the America's Cup Jury's authority.

Measurement Committee:
The Measurement Committee interprets and applies the AC72 Class Rule. In addition to measuring the yachts before or after racing, the Measurement Committee responds to requests from the teams on how the rules will be interpreted, and issues public notices of those decisions to all competitors. The Measurers also provide notice to the teams of the methods use for measuring. The Committee plays an arcane but technically intense role in determining what design and engineering is permitted under the Class Rule. The Committee consists of a Chief Measurer and at least two other members, appointed by the Regatta Director and replaceable by him as well. For 2013, Nick Nicholson served as Chairman for AC34, along with Shaun Ritson and Carlos de Beltran. The Measurement Committee is described briefly in Protocol Article 4.4, and measurement is described in depth in Section E (Rules 21-27) of the AC72 Class Rule.

Challengers:

Challenger of Record:
The Challenger of Record (COR) title is an artifact of the process that lets multiple teams compete to face the Defender. Traditionally, as the final race of the America's Cup ends, the winning yacht club accepts a Notice of Challenge from a foreign yacht club. That entry receives the title of Challenger of Record. In recent practice, some initial terms of mutual consent may be established at that time or be negotiated in the future. Under the 2013 Protocol, the COR also has veto power over amendments to the Protocol, and in certain other situations. The exact balance of power has varied from one Cup cycle to another.

Ultimately, the team that wins the Challenger Selection Series (The Louis Vuitton Cup), and faces the Defender in the America's Cup Match, becomes the final Challenger of Record. Assuming there are multiple challengers, if the sitting COR is eliminated during the Louis Vuitton Cup, or withdraws for any other reason, the title passes via a chain of succession to another challenger candidate. For 2013, the COR was first Club Nautico di Roma, represented by Mascalzone Latino. They withdrew from the event and the title passed to the Royal Swedish YC, Kungliga Svenska Segel Sällskapet, represented by Artemis Racing. Next in line after Artemis are Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (represented by Emirates Team New Zealand), and then Circolo della Vela Sicilia (represented by Luna Rossa Challenge 2013). This succession is formally set out in Article 6 of the Protocol. Also see Challenger Order of Entry for more specifics. RNZYS became the COR after Artemis lost in the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finals.

Additional Challengers:
Additional challenges that are received under the terms of the Protocol, and meet the terms of entry, allow a number of foreign teams to compete with each other for the right to face the Defender. The practice of multiple Challengers began in 1970. Before then only one yacht club ever challenged at a time. Someone being pedantic about the terms might say that only the final team that meets the Defender in the America's Cup Match should be called the Challenger, but in practice any formally accepted Challenger is usually referred to by the title.

Candidates for the Defense:
When they held the America's Cup, the NYYC always had multiple candidates racing against each other under the eyes of a Defender selection committee, a system that helped determine the best boat for the job while sharpening performance through the intensity of the competition. Many people believe this arrangement was an essential advantage over single challengers who only rarely had serious competition to train against. The Royal Perth YC and San Diego YC also fielded multiple candidates in their defenses from 1987 to 1995. From 2000 to 2007, defending clubs Royal New Zealand YS and Société Nautique de Genève did not field multiple teams in true competition with each other, but their designated representatives used a second in-house boat to help tune up for the Match.

Additional defense candidate teams were sought to compete against Oracle to represent Golden Gate YC, a scenario that Russell Coutts, CEO of Oracle Team USA, encouraged knowing that strong internal competition has historically made the ultimate defender better, but GGYC did not receive entries that they felt were sufficiently prepared to compete at the required level. Candidates for the Defense are on a different status than Challengers, not sponsored by other yacht clubs, and competing to become designated as GGYC's representative. While a trustee may not turn down bona fide challenger entries, the trustee is also under no obligation to accept interested defender candidates.

GGYC will instead train with two of their own AC72 yachts at the same time to prepare for the match.

Competitor Forum:
The Competitor Forum is composed of all the officially entered America's Cup teams. A majority of the Competitor Forum is needed in order to amend the Protocol, and a unanimous vote of the Competitor Forum is needed to amend the AC72 Class Rule. The basics of the Competitor Forum are described in Article 5 of the Protocol. In response to a case brought before the America's Cup Jury, it was clarified that a team needs to be current on all required payments and fees in order to be considered a Competitor and thus participate in voting on rules changes affecting the Louis Vuitton Cup regatta or the America's Cup Match.

ACPI:
America's Cup Properties International (ACPI) is an entity created in the 1980s to manage the intellectual property associated with the America's Cup, mainly licensing and protection of trademarks including the name, the image of the trophy, and associated logos. ACPI is funded by a portion of entry fees from the teams. Relationships between current teams, the future winner, and ACPI are described in Article 46 of the Protocol.

Additional Links and Info:

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