RORC publish Admiral's Cup Notice of Race

by RORC Press 23 Apr 13:49 BST 17 July - 1 August 2025

The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) has published the 2025 Admiral's Cup Notice of Race, setting out the conditions under which the prestigious regatta will be run.

Expressions of interest have been received from 14 different countries, with multiple teams from several nations.

Download the 2025 Admiral's Cup Notice of Race here

The 2025 Admiral's Cup is a fitting event to celebrate the centenary of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The Club is organising a variety of social events at the RORC Cowes Clubhouse which will be re-opened this year after major construction and refurbishment.

RORC Commodore Deborah Fish commented about the importance and plans for 2025 Admiral's Cup: "The Admiral's Cup has a long and distinguished history, attracting the leading sailors of its age from America's Cup contenders, such as Dennis Connor, through to British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, to legends Eric Tabarly and Lawrie Smith," commented Deb Fish. "The 2025 edition will respect the history of this incredible event, whilst recognising how our sport has changed since the last Admiral's Cup in 2003.

"Professional crews are increasingly multinational and there is a growing acceptance of the need to include talented female and younger sailors in crews to ensure our sport has a bright future. Owners are starting to build new boats for the event and 15 months out the excitement is already building. The RORC Race Team is gearing up to deliver a first-class event, and our redeveloped Cowes Clubhouse will provide a fantastic venue for the social programme which will include a reunion for past Admiral's Cup competitors from around the world. I can't wait to see the boats lining up for the Channel Race that will kick off the event!"

Race Director for the 2025 Admiral's Cup, Steve Cole has been working with the RORC Race Team, the Admiral's Cup Advisory Committee, and discussing the event with potential teams to produce the 2025 Admiral's Cup Notice of Race.

"The document sets out the general structure of racing, containing information to allow potential competitors to make a sensible assessment of whether they wish to compete for the world famous trophy," commented Steve Cole. "The Admiral's Cup Notice of Race confirms the dates, the IRC Classes, the procedure and times for entry, and the intended programme of races. In addition, it confirms rules for crew, boats and equipment."

Teams of two boats may enter representing a club or country. There will be no limitation on professional crew or crew nationality. There will be two classes with teams having one boat in each class.

Adjusted scoring:

• The short offshore will have a weighting of 2.

• The Rolex Fastnet Race will have a weighting of 3.

• Three races (including one offshore race) are required to constitute a series.

• There will be one discard for the inshore races, if five or more races are completed.

The offshore races will be non-discardable. The 2025 Admiral's Cup Notice of Race published today, does have some amendments and additions from the Pre-Notice of Race published on 5th October 2023.

A summary of some of the new information set out in the Official Notice of Race includes:

Teams:

The nationality of the team will be determined by the location of the entering club. If multiple teams enter from one country, a colour will be used in the team description. e.g. Australia Red.

The allowed crew number will be as permitted in the IRC Certificate. There is no crew weight limit. Crews shall consist of at least one female crew and one crew of under 27 years old on the 19th July 2025. There is no limit on professional crew or an owner driver requirement.

Courses:

The intention is to run the short offshore before inshore racing, followed by the Rolex Fastnet Race as the final race of the 2025 Admiral's Cup.

Boats and equipment:

Autopilots shall not be used. The Admiral's Cup classes will have a maximum number of sails that can be measured in for the regatta. The number of sails that can be on board will comply as per their IRC Certificate. Sails carried onboard need to remain the same from when the boat leaves the marina berth for the first time for each day, until the boat returns to the marina berth after racing.

From 1 July 2024, entries may be made online using the link on the event website: admiralscup.rorc.org