Spain announces Youth and Womens America's Cup Challenge
by SailTeam BCN 8 Sep 2022 23:08 BST
9 September 2022
A new America’s Cup team, SailTeam BCN, has been created in Barcelona to represent the City, Region and Country to challenge for the Youth & Woman’s America’s Cup in 2024.
A collaboration between an experienced group of sailors and campaign managers together with the Real Club Nautico de Barcelona (RCNB) have received approval from America’s Cup Event Management Company (ACE) and Emirates Team New Zealand to be the Spanish challenger for the event in 2024.
Heading up the team will be legendary Catalan sailor Guillermo Altadill and experienced international team manager Stewart Hosford. [Stewart Hosford, is a Cork Harbour yachting stalwart and CEO of Sir Keith Mills’ pan-global sports investment group Origin Sports, which assisted Emirates Team NZ with the 2024 America's Cup venue selection process.]
Sailteam BCN have a number of key objectives for the 37th America’s Cup
- To create a fully formed team with campaign base in the Port of Barcelona.
- To purchase and run two newly released AC40 race boats with a full America’s Cup team structure.
- To recruit talented youth and female sailors from across Spain in an open, application based process to
- ensure transparent, open recruitment of athletes for both the Youth and Woman’s teams.
- To race and train from Barcelona with the objective to win both the Youth and Woman’s America’s Cup in 2024.
- To build a platform of talent and build pathways allowing the team and athletes to compete in future America’s Cups in all categories.
The team have already commissioned the design of a team base in Port Vell in Barcelona and are in discussions with a number of investors and sponsors to support the initiative.
Guillermo Altadill Team Principal – “I have participated in a number of America’s Cups and the opportunity to build a Spanish team and harness the incredible sailing talent from across this country is an incredibly exciting opportunity for me. As a team we will proudly represent Barcelona and our wider country to show the world that Spain is a leading sailing nation and to be home favourites for the Cup in 2024. What has been incredibly impressive to me already is the amount of interest and talent that this opportunity is attracting already.”
Jordi Puig President RCNB – “Our club has been supporting the America’s Cup bid since the beginning and we have been in informal discussions for a number of months with SailTeam BCN and last week we formed an agreement that, we as a yacht club are incredibly excited by. Our club is 100% behind the team and the America’s Cup event in Barcelona and we look forward to supporting the Team in their ambition to win the Youth and Woman’s America’s Cup in 2024.”
Grant Dalton CEO ACE – “Guillermo and Stewart, together with the Yacht Club here in Barcelona have put together a world class plan and team and as the event authority we are delighted to back them as the local and Spanish Team to compete in Women’s and Youth America’s Cup as part of AC37, creating pathways for the next generation of local sailors to compete in the America’s Cup.”