{"id":91802,"date":"2016-11-17T11:52:37","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T02:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=feature&p=91802&lang=en"},"modified":"2017-06-13T12:58:10","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T03:58:10","slug":"americas-cup-2016-fukuoka-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/americas-cup-2016-fukuoka-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"America’s Cup World Series Fukuoka 2016 – Your Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The ninth stage of the Louis Vuitton America\u2019s Cup World Series will come to Fukuoka Nov. 18-20 – the first America\u2019s Cup race to be held in Asia. Three days of high intensity, action-packed racing will be staged off Jigyohama Beach, in one of the most prestigious sporting events the city has ever hosted. Read on to learn more about the America\u2019s Cup and how you can see the action.<\/p>\n

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What is the America\u2019s Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n\u00a9 Matt Knighton<\/em><\/p>\n

The America\u2019s Cup began in 1851 – some 45 years before the modern Olympics – making it the world\u2019s oldest international sporting event. Since that first race, teams have competed for the same silver trophy, colloquially known as the \u2018Auld Mug\u2019.<\/p>\n

It is a multi-stage sailing competition which culminates every three to four years with a race between just two boats: the defending champion and a challenger. The America\u2019s Cup trophy was last won in 2013, in a race between the Golden Gate Yacht Club (defender and eventual winner) and Emirates Team New Zealand (challenger and loser).<\/p>\n

The current America\u2019s Cup competition will finish with a series of races in Bermuda in June 2017. It will be a race between Oracle Team USA (the current defender – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club) and a single challenger. The selection process for the challenger began in July 2015, with the first of the World Series races in Portsmouth, UK.<\/p>\n

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The Fukuoka Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Each\u00a0team is given the opportunity to host a World Series event in their home country. Fukuoka was chosen from amongst Japanese cities to host the race as one of Japan\u2019s leading\u00a0port cities, and the races will be an opportunity to show Fukuoka off on the global stage.<\/p>\n

Soichiro Takashima, Fukuoka City Mayor, said of the races: \u201cFukuoka is aiming to be a leading city in Asia, so being able to host the Louis Vuitton America\u2019s Cup World Series in Japan for the first time is truly wonderful.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s so exciting about the America\u2019s Cup anyway?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The boats raced in the America\u2019s Cup are the sailing equivalent of Formula 1 cars, employing the latest technologies to generate just\u00a0one thing: speed. Each boat is a twin-hulled catamaran made special by \u00a0the aerofoils that are attached to each hull. As the boats approach full racing speed, the foils allow for the boats to lift out of the water.<\/p>\n

At full speed, the racing becomes more akin to flying than your average potter-about in a dinghy, with nothing but the foils in contact with the water. The boats that are raced in the World Series can reach a maximum speed of 35 knots (40mph, 65 kph) and require five crew members to sail them effectively. It\u2019s not impossible to capsize the boats, and crashes can be incredibly dramatic.<\/p>\n