Team New Zealand say they will be ready to go when details are firmed up for the next America's Cup yachting regatta.
American syndicate Oracle became the new holders of international sport's oldest trophy today when they completed a 2-0 victory over Swiss defenders Alinghi in their one-on-one showdown off the Spanish coast.
Oracle's billionaire owner, Larry Ellison, later confirmed that Mascalzone Latino of Italy would be the challenger of record, or challengers' representative, for the next regatta.
Team NZ operations manager Kevin Shoebridge said he expected announcements would be made over the next few days on the timing and venue for the next event, which will revert to the multi-challenger format.
"Once the protocol comes out and we have the parameters, we can launch immediately," he said.
"The past 2-1/2 to three years, all we've been concerned about is survival and we've done a series of events that has allowed that to happen, so we are in a good position."
The last multi-challenger America's Cup was in Valencia in 2007, when Team NZ made it to the final before losing to Alinghi, and the regatta to follow was scheduled for last year.
However, Oracle, arguing that Alinghi had made rule changes that favoured the defenders, issued a rare Deed of Gift challenge which shut out other syndicates.
Last year, as the lengthy court battle that ensued between Oracle and Alinghi left the cup in limbo, Team NZ, led by managing director Grant Dalton, hosted an America's Cup-style regatta in Auckland.
The success of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series led to the establishment of the Louis Vuitton Trophy world circuit.
Skipper Dean Barker and his crew also competed in and won the MedCup, a series sailed in the Mediterranean in TP52s.
Shoebridge described the Oracle's victory off Valencia as "good news".
"It feels like we've been stuck in the mud for so long and now there's a clear winner and they seem committed to getting on with a regular America's Cup," he said.
"Larry Ellison made the statement this morning that he wants neutral umpires, neutral juries, independent management, all these sorts of things. That goes a long way to solving a lot of problems that existed."
Team NZ will continue with a second MedCup campaign this year and will also contest the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas, the next being in Auckland next month.
Shoebridge has just returned from Valencia, where he was able to see in person the Oracle trimaran and the Alinghi catamaran.
"They're amazing pieces of machinery and you don't get a feel for how huge and fast they are until you're alongside them." But while the boats were exciting, he said the racing itself wasn't, given Oracle's surprise dominance.
Shoebridge also expected the next America's Cup to revert to monohulls, although with a new class of boat than the one used between 1992 and 2007.
"Oracle said they would do whatever the consensus was," he said.
"Although the multihulls are exciting, they look great and they're fast, I think the consensus will probably be monohulls. I think it's time to move on to a new class as well."
