Chinese team eyes entering America’s Cup
Print Edition
A CHINESE team is one of three talking to America’s Cup organizers about joining the five challengers so far entered for the 2017 edition, five times winner Russell Coutts said on Tuesday.
“This new entity that is looking to come in would be (from) Chinese mainland, which would be fantastic,” said the New Zealander, chief executive of the America’s Cup Events Authority.
Speaking at a media event organized by British watchmakers and official timing partners Bremont and with the ‘Auld Mug’ on display next to him, Coutts added it was important they were competitive.
“I don’t really want the Chinese to come in if they are not going to be competitive. I think it would do more harm than good,” said Coutts, CEO of 2013 winners Oracle Team USA.
“You’d be better off bringing them in in the next cycle in my view, making sure that they have a really competitive team and are going to make a good show of it.”
Of the three potential entries, Coutts was hopeful one of them would “get across the line” but that was likely to be the limit.
“I frankly don’t think there’s much more room at the moment... for this cycle but ultimately it would be great to have 12 teams out there battling away,” he added.
Interest in sailing in China is growing, with China’s Dongfeng Race Team challenging strongly in the recent Volvo Ocean Race and CCTV television set to broadcast all stages of the 35th America’s Cup, starting with this weekend’s World Series event in Portsmouth, England.
“I went to Chinese mainland for the first time a few years ago and at that stage I would have said ‘Look, there’s just no way sailing here can develop fast enough’,” said Coutts.
“I then went back there and was just staggered at what had happened in the two years since.
“There is a transformation going on over there and quite a lot of development within the marine industry,” he added.
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