We've held the America's cup for just one day but already Team New Zealand is looking to the defence of the Cup and what rule changes they may introduce.
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The campaign to defend the Cup started the moment the big cat crossed the line and the champagne corks erupted on the chase boats.
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And front and centre so far is the nationality clause.
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Grant Dalton has suggested that a percentage of the team should be from the country they're sailing for.
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In Bermuda, only one of the six crew was required to be from the team's country of origin, and Kiwi and Aussie sailors dominated Oracle and Japan. Artemis had an Australian skipper.
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The issue is that if we were to introduce a nationality clause -- and it may be that 50% of the crew have to be from the country they're representing, it could be higher -- then that would only really impact New Zealand and Australian sailors.
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Yachting and marine life is a big part of New Zealand life because we're an island nation. We produce a lot of sailors, a lot of men and women who craft their careers out on the water.
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And now with the advances of technology, we don't need as many people to sail a boat.
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Crews are getting smaller. Look back to the big monohulls when the likes of Dennis Connor and Chris Dickson were at the helm....they had crews of a dozen men on board.
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Now, it's less than half that. If you bring in a nationality clause, there will be fewer options for Kiwi and Aussie sailors.
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I had no issue watching Dean Barker sailing for Team Japan. They had eleven crew, three were Japanese. I still saw it as the Japanese challenge.
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Likewise, Sir Russell Coutts' career went beyond New Zealand and Team New Zealand when he skippered Alinghi, and later become CEO of Oracle.
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I know his exit from Team New Zealand almost caused the country to implode, but he's a career sailor. Yachting and the America's Cup is a different beast to, say, an Olympic game. The public support the boat and the flag they fly, don't they? As opposed to the nationality of the sailors on board?
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Maybe you disagree with me. Maybe I'm wrong on this. But I don't think we should place too much emphasis on the nationality of the sailors.
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What I am really interested in is the boats.
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