Replica America's Cup trophy
Date2000
Object number00055226
NameTrophy
Mediumtrophy electroplated silver
DimensionsOverall: 700 × 220 × 220 mm
ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts
Credit LineANMM Collection Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Mr Albert YL Wong AM & Mrs Sophie Wong
DescriptionA replica America's Cup trophy of limited edition, 13/50, made in New Zealand by AC Y2K Co. Ltd, the America's Cup 2000 Syndicate.
This trophy represents the history of the America's Cup since AUSTRALIA II's historic win in 1983 - one of the defining moments in Australian sport. The cup replica was made by the Team New Zealand syndicate ACY2K Co Ltd and purchased during its successful America's Cup defence in Auckland in 2000.
HistoryThis is a three-quarters scale replica of the America’s Cup, the oldest active trophy in international sport. Named after the schooner America that was there at the very beginning in 1851, when the American schooner won a race around the Isle of Wight against the best of Britain, including the cream of the Royal Yacht Squadron, it is known as the ‘Auld Mug’.
In 1857 the yacht's owners donated the cup to the New York Yacht Club (NYYC). The cup would be held in trust as a ‘challenge trophy’ for ‘friendly competition between foreign countries’. The deed of gift, a registered trust document held by the New York Supreme Court, outlined the rules for challenging and racing.
The NYYC held the cup until 1983, when the Royal Perth Yacht Club, and Alan Bond's AUSTRALIA II syndicate, pulled off a shock victory, ending the longest winning streak in the history of sport. Ths surprising win opened the field to a broader range of sailing challengers. The America's Cup was winnable and losable, and the Cup changed hands a number of times during the next thirty years.
This replica was one of a limited edition of 50 produced in New Zealand and sold during New Zealand's defence of the Cup in Auckland in 2000. Team New Zealand were the defenders. They had won the Cup from Dennis Conner's American STARS AND STRIPES syndicate in San Diego 5-0 in 1995. In Auckland in 2000 Team New Zealand beat Italy's LUNA ROSSA's team 5-0.
In the next defence, in 2003 the Spanish Alinghi team beat team New Zealand, in Valencia in 2007 they lost to Italy's LUNA ROSSA. 2010 saw America reclaim the 'Auld Mug', it was to hold for the next seven years.
In the next race series in 2013 in San Francisco Team NZ raced off against defenders Team USA and hold match point at 8-1, before the unbelievable happens and the Spithill-skippered Americans take the next eight races.
In Bermuda 2017 Team NZ again get to match point against Team USA at 6-1, but this time helmsman Peter Burling and his crewmates held them off to claim victory for Emeriates New Zealand.
SignificanceThis trophy is a very high-end souvenir from the Team NZ defence in 2000 that represents the appeal of the Cup as the pinnacle of sailing and of high performance team work as an aspiration and symbol of success, displayed as it was in a corporate boardroom.
The most high profile sailing achievement in the imaginations of many Australians is when the AUSTRALIA II syndicate ‘stole’ the America’s cup from the New York Yacht Club in 1983 after 132 years. It was a moment that galvanised the non-sporting world and crystallised the optimism and excess of the 1980s. After AUSTRALIA II's historic win the appeal of the Cup broadened. The cup became winnable and changed hands a number of times over the course of the next thirty years with a broader field of challengers taking part. New Zealand has been a dominant force, successfully defending its 1995 cup win from the Americans in 2000. With no Australian challenge since 2005, and Bob Oatley's incomplete attempt in 2013, Australian sailors have helmed and crewed in Cup teams for other nations, Jimmy Spithall included.
