After a 25-year absence from the iconic America’s Cup sailing competition, Australia is officially making a comeback, with its challenger entry for the 38th edition of the world’s oldest sailing trophy accepted by event organizers.
Sydney’s Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club announced Thursday that its challenge submitted alongside Team Australia has been cleared for the 38th America’s Cup, scheduled to kick off next year in Naples, Italy. Australia joins a growing field of challengers gunning for a spot in the final match against defending champion Team New Zealand, including a confirmed entry from the United States.
Team Australia has wasted no time building an elite, championship-caliber leadership squad, welcoming some of the biggest names in global sailing to key roles. Olympic gold medal-winning sailor Tom Slingsby, who currently competes in the global SailGP series for an Australian team, will step into the position of head of sailing for the syndicate. Three-time America’s Cup champion Glenn Ashby has been tapped to lead the team’s performance and design division.
Speaking on his new appointment, Slingsby emphasized the deep personal meaning of returning Australia to the competition as an independent national contender. “The opportunity to represent Australia in the America’s Cup with an Australian team is something that genuinely means a lot to me,” he said. “It’s been a dream throughout my career to be part of bringing Australia back to the Cup in a meaningful way.”
Leading the entire campaign as chief executive officer is Grant Simmer, a foundational member of the legendary 1983 Australia II team that pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history, ending the New York Yacht Club’s unbroken 132-year winning streak in the America’s Cup. For Simmer, the 2027 comeback campaign is both a full-circle moment and a thrilling new chapter. “For me, this campaign is both deeply personal and incredibly exciting,” he shared in a formal statement. “I first became involved in the America’s Cup in the early 1980s and was fortunate to be part of the team that changed the course of the Cup forever.”
Australia’s return to the America’s Cup as a flagged contender fills a gap that has lasted more than two decades. The last official Australian challenger syndicate was Young Australia, which competed in the 2000 America’s Cup held in Auckland, New Zealand. In the years since, Australian sailors and designers have claimed America’s Cup glory as part of winning teams from the United States, Switzerland and New Zealand, but no fully Australian-led and flagged entry has competed until now.
The path to the 38th America’s Cup final was set last October, when Team New Zealand claimed the 37th America’s Cup title in Barcelona, Spain, beating INEOS Britannia by a score of 7-2 to secure their third consecutive America’s Cup victory. Representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the Kiwi team will now automatically advance to the best-of-13 final match in 2027, where they will face the winner of the challenger series hosted in Naples next year.
Next year’s competition will also bring a landmark new rule for AC75 yachts, requiring every race crew to include at least one female sailor. Tash Bryant, a world-leading Australian female sailor, called the policy a transformative milestone for gender equity in elite sailing. “The changes represent an important moment for the future of the sport,” she said. “The evolution of the boats and the competition is opening the door to broader opportunities and visibility for women in elite sailing, while also creating clearer pathways for younger generations coming through the sport.”