The period for late entries for the 36th America's Cup officially closed today.
The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Emirates Team New Zealand confirmed there have been an additional eight notices of Challenge received by the 5pm (NZT) deadline.
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So far, Italian challenger Luna Rossa, Sir Ben Ainslie's INEOS Team UK and American Magic from the New York Yacht Club have confirmed their places.
According to the supporting entry documents, only one of these eight entries is capable of immediate acceptance while the remaining seven notices of challenge carry conditions. Some of the entries are likely to be invalid, something that will be determined through a vetting process which will begin immediately.
"We are really encouraged by the level of interest that has been shown from around the world by the number of notices of challenge that have been lodged by today's deadline," said Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton.
"It has been a long time coming, but worthwhile to give potential teams every opportunity to enter what will be a huge global event for New Zealand. However, we must remain cautious and not jump to conclusions on the final number of teams. It is only when the acceptance process has been completed that we will know how many will compete in the Prada Cup alongside Luna Rossa, American Magic and INEOS TeamUK."
Conditions of some of the challenges will require changes to the Protocol, which is therefore dependant on agreement with the Challenger of Record before each new challenger's participation can be confirmed.
"We understand there will be questions around what a conditional challenge is," explained Dalton.
The process of assessing the entries and conditions of the eight new challengers will begin immediately with the RNZYS and Emirates Team New Zealand. Emirates Team New Zealand is acutely conscious of the need to advise Auckland Council and the Government on the base infrastructure footprint requirement, which has an impact on overall costs.
The Government and Council have been advised that a maximum of five challengers can be accommodated on Wynyard Point with three double bases and two singles.
Should less than three of the late challenges be accepted, the Government and Council will then have the option of not proceeding with the Hobson Wharf extension for the 36th America's Cup, which would result in considerable cost savings.
The official announcements of the new accepted challengers will be made at a later date after the completion of the conditional entries process and in accordance with each team's preference on the timings of their respective public announcements.
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