AC Teams Announced

Anyone hoping for a surprise at today’s announcement of the team slate for the 34th America’s Cup was probably disappointed. None of the "undisclosed" teams were able to cross the threshold into becoming America’s Cup challengers, so the lineup is pretty much unchanged from what’s already been announced. This morning, Challenger of Record Artemis Racing was joined on the Ferry Building’s mezzanine by China Team, Aleph Equipe de France, Emirates Team New Zealand, Venezia Challenge, Energy Team and Team Korea — a total of seven.

Although America’s Cup Race Management was undoubtedly looking for more challengers, the provincialists out there who’ve been hoping that the 34th Cup would fall flat must be disappointed. The participation of both China and Korea should prove to be a huge boost to the Cup.

There were some other key announcements at the press conference, notably that the 136 containers required to transport the America’s Cup World Series road show around the world will make their way to San Diego November 12-20. See the official event site for additional info.