2017 Louis Vuitton Cup

The 2017 Louis Vuitton Challenger’s Trophy (officially, the Trophy was given to the winner of the 2017 Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs) was a competition held to determine the challenger in the 2017 America's Cup. The races ran from 5 to 12 June 2017 in Bermuda and were preceded by the 2015–16 America's Cup World Series. It was won by Emirates Team New Zealand who defeated Artemis Racing in the final. The races were conducted using AC50 yachts, a new class of 50 feet (15 m) hydrofoiling wingsail catamarans, larger than the AC45F yachts used in the world series and smaller than the AC72 yachts used in 2013. Emirates Team New Zealand went on to compete with defending champions Oracle Team USA in the 2017 America's Cup match.

The tournament was an expansion of the Louis Vuitton Cup format, with the defender competing in the first round robin stage.

On 1 October 2013, Australia's Hamilton Island Yacht Club was confirmed as the "Challenger of Record" for the 35th America's Cup. Only moments after the win by USA team Oracle, Hamilton Island Yacht Club (HIYC), located on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia issued its challenge for the 35th America’s Cup. The HIYC challenge was accepted by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, which remained the Defender and Trustee of the world’s oldest international sporting trophy. Australian billionaire Bob Oatley was said to be financially backing the Hamilton Island Yacht Club as the Challenger of Record for the 35th America's Cup.

On 19 July 2014, Russell Coutts, Director of the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA), announced that Hamilton Island Yacht Club had withdrawn Team Australia from the 35th America's Cup. Team Australia claimed that the new protocols as set forth by defending champion Oracle Team USA were too hard to prepare for when no dates or venue have been confirmed for the event.

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