WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New rules for the America’s Cup sailing regatta announced Tuesday have been described as a seismic moment for the historic event and the “boldest change in 174 years of the Cup.”
Crews competing in the 38th Cup regatta in Naples, Italy in July of 2027 will comprise five members, including at least one woman. Under new criteria, at least two members of each crew, including a female, must be nationals of each team’s country of origin.
Each 76-foot America’s Cup boat will also carry a sixth “guest” crew member who could be a celebrity, influencer, media representative or sponsor.
The America’s Cup will now be contested every two years and the protocol or governing document for the event now establishes a system of governance under which all competing teams will have equal responsibility for organizing the event on and off the water and for the control of media and commercial rights.
Most functions of the boats will now be powered by batteries, rather than the brute strength of their crews.
The moves to modernize the Cup have mostly been well received by competitors and key shareholders.
“As the founding Trustee of the America’s Cup, we are completely supportive of the move to modernize the oldest sporting trophy in the world,” said Jay Cross, commodore of the New York Yacht Club.
The NYYC was the first to win the America’s Cup when its schooner America — from which the trophy takes its name — beat 15 yachts representing Britain's Royal Yacht Squadron in a race around the Isle of Wight in 1851.
The United States held the trophy until 1983, when the challenger Australia II ended the streak. Team New Zealand has dominated the recent regattas.
“As the three-time successive winner and defender of the America’s Cup and along with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as current Trustee, we feel the responsibility to continue to drive the growth of the America’s Cup event,” Team New Zealand chief executive Grant Dalton said.
“Although the America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in international sport and the pinnacle of sailing, its Achilles heel has always been its lack of continuity," he said. "So this transformation now gives all teams collective stewardship and we are introducing a new executive management team to be headed up by a new independent CEO.”
In a move to contain costs, a cap of 75 million Euros ($87 million) has been imposed on each team competing in 2027. Teams returning from the last America’s Cup will be required to retain the same hulls while new teams will have to either acquire an AC75 hull or build to the same specifications.
“This is a seismic moment for the America’s Cup,” Athena Racing team principal Ben Ainslie said. Athena Racing is the Challenger of Record which develops the protocol in partnership with the defender.
“The partnership agreement fundamentally reshapes the governance and organization of the event,” Ainslie said. “The teams and yacht clubs share a vision to make the America’s Cup more inclusive, compelling and financially sustainable.
"This new model marks a unified commitment to that vision. I am excited for the future of the sport.”
Tuesday’s announcement follows a fractious development process for the protocol during which Athena Racing and the American and Swiss challengers criticized Team New Zealand’s management of the event.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE -The America's Cup trophy, left, and Louis Vuitton Cup trophies are seen during the presentation of the 38th America's Cup, at the Castel dell'Ovo in Naples, southern Italy, May 28, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP, File)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cedric Gray isn't concerned about Tennessee Titans fans wanting the first overall NFL draft pick for the second straight year.
The second-year linebacker and everyone else in the Titans locker room were focused on getting their second win of the season.
Behind a strong running game along with key plays on defense and special teams, the Titans snapped a seven-game skid as they held off the Cleveland Browns 31-29 on Sunday.
“We hadn’t won since Week 5, so it feels amazing,” said Gray, who had a team-high 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. “I’m not worried about the No. 1 overall pick. We’re ballplayers. We got heart every time we step on the field.”
Tony Pollard rushed for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns as Tennessee averaged 5.3 yards per carry. The defense forced a pair of turnovers in the second half and the special teams blocked a punt, with those plays leading to 17 points.
“This is complementary football. Big plays in all three phases,” said interim coach Mike McCoy, who picked up his first win in seven games since he replaced the fired Brian Callahan.
Cam Ward, the top overall pick in April’s NFL draft, completed 14 of 28 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, his first game with multiple TD tosses. Ward also threw an interception but was sacked only once, the first time this season hadn't been taken down at least twice.
Cleveland's Shedeur Sanders passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns in his third start, and he also ran for a score in a matchup of rookies. However, Sanders threw a costly interception in the third quarter that led to Tennessee’s go-ahead TD.
The Titans (2-11) had a 31-17 lead with 6:17 remaining before the Browns scored a pair of touchdowns. Sanders had a 7-yard scramble with 4:27 left and threw a 7-yard TD pass to Harold Fannin Jr. with 1:03 remaining, but the Browns (3-10) missed both of their 2-point conversion attempts.
Cleveland attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by Tennessee's Chimere Dike and the Titans ran out the clock.
Pollard, who had 25 carries, had a career-high 65-yard TD run late in the first quarter to give the Titans a 14-3 lead. After Cleveland rallied to take a 17-14 halftime advantage, Pollard put the Titans up for good with a 32-yard carry off left tackle. The third-quarter touchdown came two plays after Titans safety Xavier Woods picked off an ill-timed deep pass by Sanders and returned it 35 yards to the Browns 38.
After Gray recovered Dillon Sampson's fumble and returned it 19 yards to the Cleveland 8, the Titans extended their lead to 28-17 on Ward's 5-yard TD pass to Chimere Dike.
Joey Slye's field goal made it a two-touchdown advantage. That came after James Williams Sr. blocked a punt.
“Some of the things that happened that game, we expect more from our run defense,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We got to protect the ball. We had a punt blocked, and obviously not getting either the 2-point plays really off is frustrating. So that’s on all of us.”
Sanders completed 23 of 42 passes and was the Browns' first rookie quarterback since Baker Mayfield to have a 300-yard game. Fellow rookie Fannin finished with eight receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown.
“I would say as time goes on, those decisions and those things, you know, will slim down. And we won’t be in situations where I have that feeling, like, I got to make something happen," Sanders said.
The Titans scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the first time this season when Ward hit Ayomanor on a crossing route for a 14-yard score. Ward was 4 of 4 for 48 yards on the eight-play drive. Tennessee came into the game as the only team without a TD on an opening drive.
“About time, honestly,” Ward said. “We have to continue to be efficient. I have to be efficient, throwing to my guys open, putting it in their radius to make plays.”
Sanders had a strong second quarter to help the Browns take a 17-14 halftime lead.
He found David Njoku in the left corner of the end zone on third-and-goal at the Titans 1. With 2:47 remaining, Sanders gave the Browns the lead with a 60-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy, the receiver's second TD this season.
Cleveland's Myles Garrett became the 14th player to record 20 sacks in a season when he got to Ward in the second quarter. With four games left, he needs three sacks to break the NFL record of 22 1/2 shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh's TJ Watt.
“I think we really were licking our chops for the pass and they stuck with the run, and we really should have been focused on stopping the run,” Garrett said.
Titans: OT Dan Moore suffered a neck injury in the third quarter.
Browns: WR Malachi Corley (concussion) and Njoku (knee) were injured in the second quarter. C Ethan Pocic (Achilles tendon), CB Denzel Ward (calf) and WR Cedric Tillman (concussion) left in the second half.
Titans: At San Francisco next Sunday.
Browns: At Chicago next Sunday.
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) runs the ball for a touchdown as Tennessee Titans defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat (93) gives chase in the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) visits with his father Deion Sanders, right, during warmups before an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (85) catches a touchdown pass as Tennessee Titans cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. (39) defends in the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) sprints to the end zone after catching a touchdown pass as Tennessee Titans cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. (39) gives chase in the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) runs the ball for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
