Sailing: America's Cup rewrites rules

Sanctions against spying, cuts in costs and the levelling of the playing field in the choice of boats are the main points of the latest America's Cup protocol agreed in San Diego this week, writes Stuart Alexander.

For America's Cup XXIX, for which the best-of-seven series will start 6 May, 1995, each defence and challenging syndicate will be able to build only two new hulls and there are limitations on how much old hulls can be changed. Challengers and defenders will be able to delay preparing their boats until just before the contest and will declare their yachts on the same day.

All syndicate designers, if foreign nationals, must be signed up by 30 June this year, but crews can delay establishing residency qualifications to sail for a foreign syndicate until 30 December, 1994. San Diego hopes to have a security compound for all syndicates and there will be penalties for spying.