The international yacht race, America 's Cup, is currently being held in Auckland, New Zealand!
The race is underway as New Zealand, the winners of the last tournament in 2017, take on Italy, who won the qualifying tournament, the Prada Cup.
What is the America's Cup?
The America's Cup is an international yacht race that began in 1851. Two teams compete for a trophy called the America's Cup. This trophy is said to be the oldest in international sports, and is also nicknamed the "Auld mug ." Auld means "old" in Scottish Gaelic.
This video shows the trophy being towed around New Zealand after the last victory.
In the America's Cup, the winner of the previous tournament competes as the defender against the challenger, the team that has won the qualifying rounds.
The American team continued to win in 25 consecutive tournaments from the first tournament, with Australia defeating the USA for the first time in 1983. New Zealand first faced the USA in 1988, and won for the first time in their second attempt in 1995.
New Zealand's results since then are as follows:
2000: Defeat USA
2003: Lost to challenger Switzerland
2007: Lost to Switzerland as a challenger
2010 Tournament: Failed to qualify
2013: Lost to the United States as a challenger
2017: Japan played against the United States as the challenger and won.
In this 2021 tournament, he has become a defender.
170th Anniversary of the Tournament in 2021
The 2021 tournament is being held in Auckland, New Zealand, the winner of the previous tournament.
First, the Prada Cup, a qualifying race to decide the challenger team that will compete against New Zealand for the America's Cup, began on January 15th, with three teams competing: the United States, Great Britain, and Italy. The tournament was temporarily suspended due to a COVID-19 case in Auckland, but was then safely held to the end, with Italy winning.
The America's Cup has also been postponed from March 6th to March 10th due to the increased alert level following the increase in COVID-19 infections (although only a few cases in Auckland).
The America's Cup races are held two times a day, with the winner being the first to win seven races.
At the end of the third day of racing on March 13th, the score was 3-3. It was a close race with each team winning one game each day!
The fourth day of racing was scheduled for March 14th, but was cancelled due to weak winds. When racing resumed on the 15th, New Zealand finally took the lead!
The race will be streamed live on YouTube
The races being held in Auckland are being streamed live on YouTube, where you can also watch many highlights.
Highlights from March 15th
The boat floats on the water and moves at high speed, which is very impressive! Although the technical aspects of the boat's functions and operation are difficult to understand, the computer graphics make it easy to understand the distance, speed, and progress.
America's Cup official channel
Race results and upcoming schedules here
This will be New Zealand's third time defending and expectations are high for them to achieve their first consecutive victory!
