Things have been pretty quiet on the America’s Cup news from of late, as we wait for the final Protocol to be announced by ETNZ. The co-CEOs from the French challenger, K-Challenge have just released their thoughts on the proposed Protocol for the 38th America’s Cup:-
“The provisional Protocol published on 23 May 2025 by Defender Emirates Team New Zealand is an important step forward for the America’s Cup, building on the successes of the last edition in Barcelona.
K-Challenge, which represented France in the last edition of the America’s Cup in Barcelona, has been in many constructive discussions involving the Defender and the Challengers for over ten months. We support this new Protocol which is fully in line with the key principles of our team’s DNA: performance, innovation, diversity, international awareness, and the decarbonisation of the maritime industry.
The key principles we support include:
- A female sailor included in the AC75 crew: women’s participation at the highest levels of our sport is essential and we are pleased to see that the Emirates Team New Zealand management listened to our requests to have this embedded within the Protocol. This is a positive step forward from the first edition of the Women’s America’s Cup in 2024.
- Youth and Women’s America’s Cup: the integration of these two major events at the heart of the America’s Cup, with the same resources, the same venue, and the same exposure, was a first in our sport. They improve access to sailing for a greater number of countries and create an essential pathway by bringing women and young people to compete at the highest levels in terms of sporting and technical performance. The launch of the K-Challenge Akademy a few months ago supports this vision.
- While remaining a competition between nations in accordance with the Deed of Gift (the original rules of the America’s Cup), the nationality rule has been relaxed to allow countries that do not have a sufficient pool of talent to fast-track their learning and for some to enter the America’s Cup for the first time. The AC75 crew may therefore be composed partly of crew members from countries other than the Yacht Club’s country of origin.
- The AC75 will be the chosen platform for at least two editions: this foiling machine is a major technological challenge that has won unanimous approval from all teams. To add to the spectacle for the public, watching from shore and at home, fleet races will be part of the competition before the final rounds in Match Racing.
- Two-year cycles with cost controls, punctuated by intermediate events, will make the America’s Cup more transparent and accessible to emerging sailing nations. The first cycle in Naples, Italy, in 2027 will be a promising step forward for this new format.
- Following the emergence of high-speed electro-H2 foilers in the last edition, the requirement for each team to have an eco-powered support boat, once again confirms the America’s Cup’s role as an incubator for innovation by contributing directly to the decarbonisation of maritime transport. This new rule is in-line with the diversification strategy undertaken by K-Challenge LAB, the subsidiary dedicated to green energy.
We are enthusiastic about these inclusions in the Protocol and therefore encourage the Challenger of Record in signing this Protocol so that all teams can prepare for the 38th America’s Cup and, together, make it a ‘not-to-be-missed’ international sporting event focused on the future.”
About K-Challenge
K-Challenge, founded in 2001 by Stephan Kandler and joined in 2021 by Bruno Dubois, is the world’s first sports technology company that brings together the best French athletes, engineers, technicians and experts with the ultimate goal of winning the biggest international sailing competitions, including the oldest sporting trophy in the world: the America’s Cup.
Mastering this ultra-competitive and unpredictable environment is what drives our creativity and innovation. K-Challenge Sport-Tech is therefore a real talent incubator and the ideal melting pot for developing major innovations.
Supported by the French Sailing Federation and the French Secretary of State for the Sea, a spectacular programme and a high-level techno-sport package spanning several years (including revolutionary French technology) has been put in place to finally win these trophies and develop major innovations in the field of mobility and ecological transition.
A real marketing BOOSTER, our 360° platform allows our sponsors to showcase their brands on a global stage and unite their employees around the intrinsic values of our sport: excellence, team spirit, environmental protection and innovation.
As a high-performance incubator, K-Challenge sport-tech offers investors a strong return on investment through diversified income streams: movable and immovable assets, sponsorship, intellectual propret, high-level training, software, patents, sports franchising and new technologies.
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