ACM
expected to announce Pre-Regatta dates (07/03/04)
(source
:
Cupinfo.com)
The organizer of the 32nd
America’s Cup, AC Management, has been working in
Valencia to establish the 2004 racing schedule and
the dates for meetings to be held in Valencia with
the new teams.
ACM will inform the teams and the public March 16th
of the selected cities for the "Pre-Regattas" to be
held this fall. Valencia, host of the next defense
in 2007, has already been named as one site, and target
dates for all three events released (September 5-12,
September 25-October 3, and October 17-23), but the
two remaining locations were still being determined.
The announcement will be made at Louis Vuitton Museum
in Paris, where ACM is expected to reveal the details
of the three 2004 events.
This official announcement should provide several
surprises. Valencia’s pre-regatta, which had been
tentatively planned (although officially unconfirmed)
for September 5-12, will likely exchange the dates
for one of the two later slots on the fall schedule.
The goal of this shuffling is to avoid the "Gota Fria",
the heavy seasonal rains that typically happen in
autumn in Valencia.
At present, the other two cities chosen to hold the
2004 Pre-Regattas are not known, though it is supposed
by some in Valencia that one will be in the north
of Europe and one in the south. It is also believed
that one of the cities could be a venue passed over
by ACM’s selection of Valencia for the America’s Cup
match.
David Gallego, Director of Institutional Relations
for ACM in Spain, said the Cup's organizers have spoken
with 24 possible challenger candidates regarding participation
in the 2007 Cup, but no more than the half of these
teams will likely take part.
According to Gallego, ACM is going to work on other
encouraging participation from other markets, including
the Middle-East and Asia. Team registration is open
until April 2005.
The first meeting of interested teams for the 32nd
Defense will take place April 5-8. At that time, ACM
will release details about the challenger bases located
in the 'Balcón del Mar’, the marketing strategy for
the event, and the services that will be provided
to the teams.
