# America's Cup **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033 "2004-07-01T12:09:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/1 "2004-07-01T12:09:28Z")
I don’t follow yatching much. Oh, all right, let’s be clear on this: I don’t follow yatching at all, I just happen to catch it on the news and only when this particular race is on. My understanding (which could be completely wrong) is that America’s Cup was named something else and only got called America’s Cup because Americans kept winning it. But now that Australia has won it-- what, 3 or 4 years in a row?-- is it called Australia’s Cup? What is the name of the race? Who sponsers it? What was the name of the prize in the beginning? And no jokes about America’s Cup securing Florida just in case Cuba tries to kick it in the 'nads. 'Cuz I was first. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/2 "2004-07-01T12:14:45Z")
My understanding is that it was originally a British yachting contest, and sometime back in the early 20th century a bunch of Americans, who were given no odds at all to win, actually did somehow. They brought the cup home to the New York Yacht Club and defended it successfully for decades. I don’t know what it was originally called, but it came to be called the America’s Cup because the yacht that won it from the Brits in the first place was named _America_. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/3 "2004-07-01T12:23:22Z")
Umm… Australia won it once. New Zealand won it twice, then those darn Swiss beat us. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/4 "2004-07-01T12:35:39Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Umm… Australia won it once. New Zealand won it twice, then those darn Swiss beat us. Hey, Australia, New Zealand… it’s all the same place _really_, isn’t it 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/5 "2004-07-01T12:37:01Z")
[http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/History-LN.htm](http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/History-LN.htm) It was originally called the 100 Guinea Cup. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/6 "2004-07-01T12:41:08Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Hey, Australia, New Zealand… it’s all the same place _really_, isn’t it 😉 Hey come down here and say that! Go on I dare you. We won’t hurt you… much 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/7 "2004-07-01T16:55:25Z")
America’s Cup was named after the schooner _America_, which won the cup on behalf of the New York Yacht Club in 1851. The NYYC has posted [history of the race](http://www.nyyc.org/popup.cfm?content=viewthenews&thenewsid=27). The Cup itself is held according to the terms of a Deed of Gift to the NYYC. The terms of the Deed of Gift have been litigated with some frequency in the New York courts. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/8 "2004-07-01T18:21:06Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Umm… Australia won it once. New Zealand won it twice, then those darn Swiss beat us. yeah, but I loved the commercial that Paul Hogan did that year! ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/9 "2004-07-01T19:39:19Z")
Dang, I was way off. Thanks, **Billdo**. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americas-cup/253033/10 "2004-07-01T22:40:52Z")
> [@Exgineer](#): > > Dang, I was way off. Thanks, **Billdo**. Actually, you were pretty much right on, except for the fact that it was the mid-19th century, not early 20th.