LOUIS VUITTON CUP OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY

The official opening of the Louis Vuitton Cup took place this afternoon with a parade of the eleven teams along the streets of Auckland.

A traditional Maori haka followed and the teams received welcomes from the Prime Minister, the Governor General of New Zealand and the Mayor of Auckland.

The skippers from each team were then called for the Official Draw Ceremony; the pairings for Round Robin One are the following:

Race 1
1st Match Young America vs America True
2nd Match The Nippon vs Abracadabra 2000
3rd Match FAST2000 vs Prada Challenge
4th Match Le Defi Francais vs Stars & Stripes
5th Match AmericaOne vs Spanish Challenge
Not racing Young Australia 2000

Race 2
1st Match Prada Challenge vs The Nippon Challenge
2nd Match The Spanish Challenge vs Young America
3rd Match America True vs AmericaOne
4th Match Young Australia 2000 vs Le Defi Francais
5th Match Abracadabra 2000 vs FAST2000
Not racing Stars & Stripes

Race 3
1st Match Le Defi Francais vs The Spanish Challenge
2nd Match AmericaOne vs FAST2000
3rd Match Abracadabra 2000 vs Stars & Stripes
4th Match Prada Challenge vs Young Australia 2000
5th Match Young America vs Nippon Challenge
Not racing America True

Race 4
1st Match Young Australia 2000 vs Abracadabra 2000
2nd Match FAST2000 vs Young America
3rd Match Nippon Challenge vs AmericaOne
4th Match Stars & Stripes vs Prada Challenge
5th Match America True vs Le Defi Francais
Not racing Spanish Challenge

Race 5
1st Match Spanish Challenge vs Prada Challenge
2nd Match Nippon Challenge vs Stars & Stripes
3rd Match Young America vs Le Defi Francais
4th Match Abracadabra 2000 vs America True
5th Match FAST2000 vs Young Australia 2000
Not racing AmericaOne

Race 6
1st Match Le Defi Francais vs AmericaOne
2nd Match Young Australia 2000 vs Nippon Challenge
3rd Match Abracadabra 2000 vs Spanish Challenge
4th Match America True vs Prada Challenge
5th Match Stars & Stripes vs FAST2000
Not racing Young America

Race 7
1st Match Spanish Challenge vs Young Australia 2000
2nd Match America True vs Stars & Stripes
3rd Match Nippon Challenge vs Le Defi Francais
4th Match Young America vs Abracadabra 2000
5th Match Prada Challenge vs AmericaOne
Not racing FAST2000

Race 8
1st Match Le Defi Francais vs FAST2000
2nd Match Stars & Stripes vs The Spanish Challenge
3rd Match Young Australia 2000 vs America True
4th Match AmericaOne vs Abracadabra 2000
5th Match Prada Challenge vs Young America
Not racing Nippon Challenge

Race 9
1st Match AmericaOne vs Stars & Stripes
2nd Match America True vs FAST2000
3rd Match Young America vs Young Australia 2000
4th Match Spanish Challenge vs Nippon Challenge
5th Match Abracadabra 2000 vs Le Defi Francais
Not racing Prada Challenge

Race 10
1st Match Young Australia 2000 vs AmericaOne
2nd Match Le Defi Francais vs Prada Challenge
3rd Match Nippon Challenge vs America True
4th Match FAST2000 vs Spanish Challenge
5th Match Stars & Stripes vs Young America
Not racing Abracadabra 2000

Race 11
1st Match FAST2000 vs Nippon Challenge
2nd Match Prada Challenge vs Abracadabra 2000
3rd Match Spanish Challenge vs America True
4th Match AmericaOne vs Young America
5th Match Stars & Stripes vs Young Australia 2000
Not racing Le Defi Francais

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On The Government’s Smokefree Laws Debacle

The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out - for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable view is that the government was being deliberately misleading. Are we to think Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is a fool, or a liar? It seems rather early on in his term of office to be facing that unpleasant choice. Yet when Luxon (and senior MP Chris Bishop) tried to defend the indefensible with the same wildly inaccurate claim, there are not a lot of positive explanations left on the table.... More