America’s Cup

The America’s Cup racing competition has a very interesting history underpinned by trust law.

The competition is called the America’s Cup because, as stated on the America’s Cup website,

In 1851, a boat named America won the 100 Guinea Cup given to the winner of a race around the Isle of Wight. The winners, members of the New York Yacht Club, donated the trophy to the Club, to be held as a ‘challenge’ trophy. Thus was born the America’s Cup, named after the boat, not the country.

The donation of the trophy was not outright, but rather was in trust, to be “preserved as a perpetual Challenge Cup for friendly competition between foreign countries.”

This trust instrument detailed the workings of the competition and is available by following this link.