Australia returns to the America's Cup after 26 years led by Tom Slingsby

Australia is back in the America's Cup, and they've assembled a roster that ought to make every other challenger sit up straight.

The Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club has had its challenge accepted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, slotting in as the sixth challenger for the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup in Naples in 2027. It is Australia's first challenge for the Auld Mug since 2000.

Tom Slingsby – SailGP's serial winner, Olympic gold medallist and two-time World Sailor of the Year – joins as Head of Sailing. Glenn Ashby, three-time Cup winner, long-time Emirates Team New Zealand stalwart and a confirmed inductee into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in October, comes on as Head of Performance and Design. And Grant Simmer, four-time Cup winner and a member of the Australia II crew that broke the New York Yacht Club's 132-year winning streak in 1983, is appointed CEO.

Australia II remains one of the country's foundational sporting moments – the day a winged-keel boat off Newport ended the longest winning run in sport – and Simmer is unambiguous about the symbolism. He calls the campaign "deeply personal and incredibly exciting," with a stated goal of bringing Australian talent that has long been scattered across rival teams back under one flag, and building the next generation of designers and sailors behind them.

Funding comes from John Winning and family, whose money was behind Australia's well-regarded Youth and Women's America's Cup entries in Barcelona in 2024. For Slingsby, the pull is more personal: he describes the project as a long-held dream, made sweeter by working alongside Herman Winning, "a close friend of more than 30 years." Team Australia also takes a seat on the America's Cup Partnership board.

The 38th edition will be the first AC75 cycle to mandate at least one female sailor in every race crew, with the shift to battery-powered systems further dialling up the premium on flight control and tactical nous over grinding muscle. Tash Bryant, named to the Australian sailing roster, frames it as "an exciting new era" and a more visible pathway for women into elite sailing.

Australia comes in as the sixth accepted challenger, joining a field that will be scrutinised intensely between now and the summer of 2027. Grant Dalton, welcoming the team to the America's Cup Partnership board, noted that "antipodean sailing has a habit of turning out the very best" – generous words from the defender's camp, but not inaccurate ones.