By Susan Kruller
November, 2002

Did you know . . . the Louis Vuitton Cup winner could sail as few as 29 races as a top four seed from the two Round Robins and winning the Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and Finals in straight races, or as many as 53 races as a top four seed and utilizing every second chance match the series offers?

SYC Is The Place To Cheer!

In a first for the club, the main station has been open on Monday evenings specifically for members to watch the Louis Vuitton Cup! The Marine room is sporting a new high resolution television, and Virtual Spectator has been available for members to stay updated on all races being run live in addition to the televised “match of the day.” Members have responded with full-house turnouts and lots of team spirit. To our great expectation, OneWorld Challenge has emerged as the strong contender we knew it would be, so be sure to join in on the fun at the club.

What’s Ahead in the Louis Vuitton Cup

The Challenger of Record, Prada of Italy, is responsible for the new Louis Vuitton Cup trial format in the hopes of producing the strongest possible challenger to face New Zealand in the America’s Cup next February. Prada made changes in the format to create the ultimate environment for determining who is best, while allowing a more opportunity for teams to recover from each round of racing and prepare for what’s next – something Prada felt was not the case in 2000. Between rounds syndicates are allowed to make boat modifications or even change to their other boat.

The challenger boats were ultimately designed to be the most competitive in New Zealand’s gentler summer climate. That weather is more prevalent around February, when the America’s Cup will be held. Obviously, that makes them somewhat susceptible to damage in heavy weather by design. To protect the boats from intense wind and weather during spring, the regatta has established strict limits regarding what set of wind speeds the syndicates sail in during the Louis Vuitton. To no one’s surprise, the New Zealand weather has already played a part in extending the rounds into reserved days due to the wind extremes

This year, the two Round Robins had a familiar pattern for those who‘ve seen previous Louis Vuitton Cup regattas. The syndicates ran a gauntlet of head-to-head races fighting for the right to advance to the Quarter Finals. Each day on the schedule, the Race Committee set out to run matches between four pairs, with one syndicate sitting it out on a bye. All together, each of the nine syndicates raced in 16 match races. One team was eliminated and eight moved on to the Quarter Finals.

Here’s the agenda for the remainder of the Louis Vuitton Cup:

The Quarter Final Round

From November 12 – 20. The Louis Vuitton Cup rewards the top four teams with fewer matches to race, and second chances if they lose a match, as they progress toward the finals. The others face single elimination matches. Now the competition pattern changes to a best-of-seven series between specific pairs of syndicates. The top four ranked teams are paired up in the top half of the Quarter Final bracket and the bottom four ranked teams are paired in the bottom half.

The syndicates that win in the top half of the Quarter Finals qualify for the top half of the Semifinal bracket and won't race again until December 9th. A highly prized advantage, with more time off to recover and improve performance.

Quarter Final Repechage Round

From November 23 until December 1, you will see, the two losers from the top bracket of the Quarter Final get their second chance in a best-of-seven series against one of the two winners from the bottom half of the regatta bracket in the previous Quarter Final Round. The two winners of this Quarter Final Repechage move onto Semi Final round - at the bottom bracket of the Semi Final.

Semi Final Round

From December 9 to 17, only four teams remain in the competition. Once again, it is a best-of-seven series for pairs of syndicates. The top ranked teams in the Semi Finals pair up, and the bottom two teams pair up. The winner from the pair at the top advances to the Louis Vuitton Cup finals. The loser gets another chance against the winner of the bottom two.

Semi Final Repechage Round

From December 20 to 29, the loser from the top match of the Semi Finals races in a best-of-seven series against the winner from the bottom of the Semi Finals. For sacrificing their holiday week, one of those teams comes away with an all-important Christmas gift of being allowed to advance to the Finals.

2003 Louis Vuitton Cup Finals

January 11 to 24, 2003, two teams remain. Especially interesting to spectators is that just before this series, those two syndicates will reveal what their hulls look like in a public ceremony – a tightly held secret for some syndicates until this point. The winner of this best-of-nine series advances to the America’s Cup!

2003 America's Cup XXXI

From February 15 to March 6 the America’s Cup XXXI will be held featuring the Challenger as winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup against the Defender Team New Zealand, in a best-of-nine series.

When you look at the overall schedule, it is a long road for challengers to win the America’s Cup. Lots of exciting races in store for spectators. Certainly worth it to the eight syndicates that remain in the hunt for the chance to go to the “big dance” and win the highest prize in yacht racing!