NEWS RELEASE
RORC ANNOUNCES CANCELLATION OF ADMIRALíS CUP 2005
The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has decided to cancel this yearís Admiralís Cup which was due to take place at Cowes from 9th to 17th July.
In order to prevent any further expenditure by teams on anything from shipping costs to new sails, a cut off date of early April had to be made and a decision taken now, rather than waiting for the final entry date of 3rd May.
Despite initial expressions of interest from no less than 13 countries and realistic hopes for at least 10 teams from 7 different countries, by early April only 2 countries had confirmed their entries, with another 2 or 3 teams struggling to put together competitive entries.
The RORCís Admiralís Cup Management Committee considered that the uncertainty surrounding potential teams was such that the chances of staging a strong international event worthy of the Admiralís Cup were sufficiently in doubt and therefore reluctantly decided that they must cancel the 2005 event.
Initially there was good support for the new format of the event and the boats chosen for the 2005 Admiralís Cup (a Mumm 30, a Swan 45 and a big IRC boat).
This decision on boats was made after considerable discussion and represented a modern, professional approach to the type of boats that should compete for the Admiralís Cup. However, this support has ebbed away for a number of reasons ranging from some teams having trouble in securing sponsorship to persuading the owners of eligible boats to take the plunge and finally enter the competition. .
The RORC would like to express its thanks to Admiralís Cup sponsors Henri Lloyd, CORUM and Champagne Mumm for their continued support and also the Cowes business and yachting communities, whose considerable help and understanding are so valuable to the Club.
So what is the RORC doing about the future?
As one of the stakeholder partners in the Rule Working Party (RWP) to develop the new Grand Prix Rule for international yachting events, the RORC sees the development of the new Rule as fundamental to the staging of a successful Admiralís Cup series and other similar style events internationally.
Commenting on the decision to cancel the 2005 Admiralís Cup, Chris Little, Commodore of the RORC, said: -
"It is a great disappointment to us to have to take this decision. The RORC is extremely grateful for the support from countries eager to mount a challenge for the Admiralís Cup, and I am very conscious of the significant effort put in by teams to pull together a competitive challenge. Realistically we needed a minimum of 5 competitive international teams to guarantee a meaningful series for all concerned. Sadly, we have not been able to attract enough teams."
"There was certainly no lack of enthusiasm or effort at the RORC and we shall continue to discuss the new Grand Prix Rule vigorously with the ORC and others to ensure there is a clearer and more competitive rule for the Admiralís Cup in years to come. I am sure that a revitalised Admiralís Cup will be possible under a new Rule and I look forward to seeing our many international friends back racing in the Solent for this famous trophy."
7 April 2005
ENDS
For more information, please contact: -
Peter Wykeham-Martin, General Manager, Royal Ocean Racing Club
Tel. 020 7493 2248, E-mail pwm@rorc.org.uk
or
Christopher Clode, PR Consultant to the Royal Ocean Racing Club
Tel. 01243 431343, E-mail chris@chrisclodepr.com
La Royal Ocean Racing Club ( Sito ufficiale) è stata costretta ad annullare la competizione internazionale velistica Admiral's Cup del 2005, a causa dello scarso numero di iscrizioni pervenute.

La Admiral's cup è una delle più famose gare di vela in ambito internazionale e si svolge al largo della Isola di Man. Per quest'anno doveva svolgersi dal 9 al 17 luglio. Già nel 2001 la manifestazione fu annullata per lo stesso motivo.

Le regole della competizione prevedono che ogni squadra partecipante gareggi con tre barche di tre caratteristiche diverse e prefissate.

Nonostante in molti avevano mostrato interesse a partecipare alla competizione, avevano mostrato interesse 13 nazioni e vi erano realistiche speranze per 10 squadre di 7 nazioni, alla data del 2 aprile soltanto due nazioni hanno confermato la loro presenza e soltanto altre due o tre potrebbero, ma con difficoltà, forse riuscire a partecipare.

L'organizzazione informa di aver preferito annullare la manifestazioni senza inutili rinvii del termine di presentazione delle richieste di partecipazione per evitare di comportare spese inutili per l'organizzazione e per i partecipanti.

Sembra che il motivo per tale scarsa partecipazione sia la difficoltà di reperire i fondi necessari tramite gli sponsor. La scelta dele tre categorie di imbarcazioni per la competizione di questo anno aveva suscitato un notevole entusiasmo, che si è però sempre più arenato a causa della difficoltà di trovare proprietari di imbarcazioni di tale tipo disponibili a gareggiare e di trovare i finanziamenti necessari.

Il Commodoro della Royal Ocean Racing Club, Chris Little si è detto profondamente dispiaciuto per essere stati costretti ad annullare la competizione e spera vivamente di riuscire ad organizzare le prossime edizioni, grazie anche alle revisioni, che sono in corso, delle regole per i Gran Prix internazionali.