Nightshift Sports:
This is quite a sports weekend. The latest round of the America’s Cup starts this weekend. It is the oldest international sporting event in the world. For a sport deeply wedded to tradition, the 2017 version of The America’s Cup would be almost unrecognizable to the participants who raced in the 60s, 70s, 80s or even early 1990s. Gone are the big, monohull custom built sailboats; in are the foiling catamarans, no more than 50 ft. in length and capable of going up to 57 MPH on the water. Big crews are out; small agile crews are in. The sport has been altered to be more “television friendly” and attract a wider audience but it still relies primarily on commercial sponsorship and the patronage of extremely rich men to keep the Cup going. The Nightshift will be covering the America’s Cup with a series of articles and ClickPaks on the Cup, the participants, where and how to watch, and other details of the event.
To start things off, The New York Times provided a good overview of where the Cup stands at this particular point in time. It’ll get you in the mood for high-speed, multi-hull, international racing. All aboard.
The Fine Print: Embed image courtesy of our friends at Getty Images, who have the photographic history of the 20th and 21st Century on file. The image has not been altered in any way. We thank them for sharing.