page_title: America's Cup
section_title: 2010: The Golden Gate Challenge
hierarchical_section_title: America's Cup / History / 2010: The Golden Gate Challenge
caption_attribution_description: English: The BMW Oracle Racing America's Cup yacht USA-17 sailing off of Valencia, Spain on January 22, 2010
context_page_description: The America's Cup, affectionately known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two sailing yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. The timing of each match is determined by an agreement between the defender and the challenger. The America's Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy. It will next be raced for in the southern summer, in March 2021.
  The cup was originally awarded in 1851 by the Royal Yacht Squadron for a race around the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, which was won by the schooner America. Originally known as the 'R.Y.S. £100 Cup', the trophy was renamed the 'America's Cup' after the yacht and was donated to the New York Yacht Club under the terms of the Deed of Gift, which made the cup available for perpetual international competition.
  Any yacht club that meets the requirements specified in the deed of gift has the right to challenge the yacht club that holds the cup.
context_section_description: After Société Nautique de Genève successfully defended the trophy in the 32nd America's Cup, they accepted a challenge from Club Náutico Español de Vela, a Spanish yacht club formed expressly for the purpose of challenging for the cup and keeping the regatta in Valencia. When SNG and CNEV published their protocol for the 33rd America's Cup, there was criticism over its terms, with some teams and yacht clubs calling it the worst protocol in the history of the event. Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) then filed its own challenge for the cup and also filed a court case asking that CNEV be removed as being unqualified under the deed of gift, and that GGYC be named the challenger, being the first club to file a conforming challenge.
  There followed a long and acrimonious legal battle, with the New York Court of Appeals finally deciding on 2 April 2009 that CNEV did not qualify as valid challenger, and that the GGYC was thus the rightful challenger.
  Since the two parties were unable to agree otherwise, the match took place as a one-on-one Deed of Gift match with no other clubs or teams participating.
  The match was sailed in gigantic, specialized 90 ft (27 m) multihull yachts in a best-of-three race series in Valencia, Spain from 8 to 14 February 2010. The rigid wing sail of the challenging trimaran USA-17 provided a decisive advantage, and it won the 2010 America's Cup in two straight races.
caption: Challenger USA-17, 2010
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