2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup

2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup

September 6-13, 2025
Newport, Rhode Island

Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup The Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup returns for the ninth edition of this historic international yacht club challenge. The event will be run for the fourth time in the Club's fleet of IC37s. These boats—all maintained by the same team to the same exacting standards—will once again provide the ultimate platform for high energy, amateur sailing on a completely level platform. 

The preliminary regatta schedule includes three days of optional practice beginning September 3, registration and optional practice on September 6, two days of mandatory practice on September 7 and 8, and five days of racing beginning September 9. The memorable Rolex Awards Dinner will be held September 13 on the lawn of the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court.

2025 NYYC IC Accordian

Official Notice Board

Official Notice Board

Scan or click the QR codes below to access the boat forms. 

Untitled ACCORDION

Event Information

Event Information

WAIVER - A waiver must be submitted for all crew prior to racing. Boats will not be scored unless all waivers have been received.

PRACTICE - The IC37s are available September 3-5, at no additional charge, for teams to practice prior to the official start of the regatta. Please complete the Practice Reservation Form below to reserve your checkout time. Once you have completed the checkout process with the IC37 team, the boat will be yours to sail for the remainder of the regatta. You can also check the schedule below to confirm your team's practice time.

The IC37s will be available for optional practice from September 3-5 and again after registration on September 6.

Saturday, September 6 0900-1100  Registration - Sailing Center
  0900-1200  IC37 Check-out following registration
  1200-1600  IC37s available for practice following check out 
  1600-1800  Late Registration - Sailing Center
Sunday, September 7 0900-1000  IC37 Protocol, Safety & Sail Briefing - Arcadia Room (mandatory for   helmsmen, tacticians and mainsail trimmers)
  1200-1500  Mandatory Practice Starts and Racing
  1600-1730  North Sails Practice Day Video || Weather & Local Knowledge - Arcadia Room (mandatory for  helmsmen, tacticians and mainsail trimmers)
  1800  Categorization Protest Time Limit
Monday, September 8 0900  IC37s available for practice
  1200-1500  Mandatory Practice Starts and Racing
  1600-1800  Hospitality Center - Lower Lawn
  1730-1800  Meeting with Umpires - Arcadia Room (mandatory for helmsmen and   tacticians)
  1800-1830  Captains' Meeting - Arcadia Room (mandatory for helmsmen, tacticians,   coaches and spectator boat captains)
  1830-2000  Opening Ceremony & Reception (Jacket & Tie)
Tuesday, September 9 0830  Morning Competitors Meeting
  1100  Race Day 1 - First Warning Signal 
  1600-2000  Hospitality Center + Defender's Night - Lower Lawn
Wednesday, September 10 0830  Morning Competitors Meeting
  1100  Race Day 2 - First Warning Signal
  1600-2000  Hospitality Center - Lower Lawn
  1800  Daily Awards at the Hospitality Center
Thursday, September 11 0830  Morning Competitor Meeting
  1100  Race Day 3 - First Warning Signal
  1600-1830  Hospitality Center - Lower Lawn
  1830-2130  NYYC Lobster Bake and Daily Awards - Marquee (Smart Casual)
Friday, September 12 0830  Morning Competitors Meeting
  1100  Race Day 4 - First Warning Signal
  1600-2000  Hospitality Center - Lower Lawn
  1800  Daily Awards at the Hospitality Center
  1830-1930  Commodore's Reception (Jacket & Tie, by invitation only)
Saturday, September 13 0800  Morning Competitor Meeting
  0900  Parade of Nations - Newport Harbor
  1100  Race Day 5 - First Warning Signal
  1800  Awards Cocktails - Hospitality Center (Jacket & Tie)
  1900-2300  Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup Awards Dinner - Marquee (Jacket & Tie)

Monday, September 8 - Opening Ceremony & Reception
Join us in the Clubhouse at New York Yacht Club Harbour Court for the Opening Ceremony and Reception. The Reception will include passed hors d'oeuvres and an open bar.

Time: 1800-2000
Price: $75/person
Dress: Jacket & Tie
 
Thursday, September 11 - Lobster Dinner
Join us in the Regatta Tent on the Lower Lawn at New York Yacht Club Harbour Court for a Lobster Dinner.

Time: 1830 Cocktails, 1930 Dinner
Price: $135/person
Dress: Smart Nautical Casual
 
Saturday, September 13 - Rolex Awards Dinner
Cheer on the winners during the Rolex Final Awards Dinner in the Regatta Tent on the Lower Lawn at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court. The evening will include an open bar, wine with dinner and dancing.

Time: 1800 Cocktail, 1900 Dinner
Price: $185/person
Dress: Jacket & Tie

Purchase additional tickets to the Opening Reception, Lobster Bake and Rolex Awards Dinner

Complete the Guest Card form for use of The Club during your visit

Through the generosity of our members, NYYC is pleased to provide a limited number of spectator boats for people interested in watching the racing. The boats will be available Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We will do our best to accommodate all requests. If interest exceeds availability, spots will be limited to two spectators per team per day.

Boats will leave the Harbour Court dock at approximately 1000 each day and return at the conclusion of racing. Complete the online Spectator Boat Reservation Form to reserve a space.

Please direct any questions regarding spectator boats to Cathy Peacock or Jack Cummiskey. 

Corinthian Yacht Club
Eastern Yacht Club
Howth Yacht Club
 
Itchenor Sailing Club 
Japan Sailing Federation
New York Yacht Club
Royal Canadian Yacht Club 
Royal Cork Yacht Club 
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club 
Royal Irish Yacht Club
Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club
 
Royal Swedish Yacht Club
 
Royal Thames Yacht Club
Royal Vancouver Yacht Club 
San Diego Yacht Club
Yacht Club Argentino
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 
Yacht Club de Ilhabela
 
Yacht Club Italiano
Yacht Club Punta Del Este 

We are delighted to welcome Helly Hansen as our apparel partner and Team One Newport, as the official retailer for the regatta. 

To order your team gear, email [email protected]

Team one Newport is the only source for items personalized with the Invitational Cup logo. Team one will also be selling gear at the regatta.

USE OF THE INVITATIONAL CUP LOGO AND NYYC BURGEE
For this regatta, use of the Invitational Cup logo is approved as follows:
 
 On a team's apparel as long as the apparel is purchased through our approved provider (Team One Newport)
 
 On a club's website/Facebook/Instagram page, as long as the link to the Invitational Cup website is provided (embedded in the logo)
 
 For a club's internal promotions
The use of the event logo must be approved by NYYC. If you would like to use the logo, pleas contact Beth Duggan in the Sailing Office.

The use of the NYYC burgee is not permitted. 

INVITATIONAL CUP TEAM EVENT CHARTERS

The NYYC IC37s will be available to Invitational Cup teams for Event Charter for any of the listed 2025 events or for the entire season. Charter fees are as listed in the table below. Event Charter reservations will open at 1200 EDT on January 24. Click here to reserve.

2025 IC37 - REGATTA SCHEDULE
  • June 7 to 8 - IC37 Kickoff (coaching + practice racing)
  • June 13 to 15 - The 171st Annual Regatta (3 race days)
  • July 12 to 13 - Sail Newport Regatta (2 race days)
  • July 18 to 20 - IC37 National Championship (3 race days)
  • August 8 to 10 - Safe Harbor Regatta (3 race days)
  • September 26-28 - IC37 North American Championship (3 race days) – Note that this regatta is after the IC

Prior to the first day of racing for each regatta, the IC37 Class runs a practice day for all teams entered into the regatta. IC37s may be picked up 2-3 days prior to the first day of racing. All pick-ups and drop-offs are selected on a form that will be distributed a few weeks prior to the event. 
 

2025 CHARTER FEES
EVENT # OF RACE DAYS FEE
IC37 Kickoff 2 $8,000
171st Annual Regatta 3 $12,000
Sail Newport Regatta 2 $8,000
IC37 National Championship 3 $12,000
Safe Harbor Regatta 3 $12,000
IC37 North American Championship 3 $12,000
Entire Season   $32,000

Media and Communications

Media and Communications

Media and Communications

Scan or click the QR code below to receive regatta related communications. 

How to Follow the 2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup

Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Race Tracking (& Replays) by TracTrac

Photography

  • Regatta Photos - includes the Awards Banquet Music Video produced by Icarus Sports
  • Team Portraits - allows download of hi-res photo team photos without the event watermark
  • Icarus Video Portal - includes B-roll footage from each day along with full interview files (requires establishing a free account)

Related Press Releases

Thanks to the generous support of 2025 Regatta Partner Helly Hansen, we're pleased to offer a way for fans around the world to participate in sailing's premiere Corinthian sailing competition and maybe win some sweet Helly Hansen gear. From Thursday, September 11, through Saturday, September 13—we're asking you to pick the winning team of the day. From the correct entries for each, we'll pick three winners. The prizes for each day can be seen via the entry form. All entries must be time stamped by Jotform prior to the day's first warning signal (scheduled for 11 am EDT each day, but subject to change.

Entry form for Thursday, Sept. 11 (first start moved to 10:30 EDT)

Entry form for Friday, Sept. 12

Entry form for Saturday, Sept. 13

Untitled SINGLE COLUMN LAYOUT

About the Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup

About the Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup

The Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup is a biennial event hosted by the New York Yacht Club in Newport, R.I., in September at its Harbour Court Clubhouse. The Invitational Cup is a regatta for teams of amateur sailors representing yacht clubs from around the world. The competition was first run in 2009. Through the 2017 edition, the regatta was sailed in a fleet of one-design Swan 42 yachts. The New York Yacht Club Swan 42 was the eighth one-design class sponsored by the New York Yacht Club. Standardized rig tuning and identical sails made this regatta the most level platform for amateur competition in boats this size. 
 

The 2019 edition featured the debut of the IC37, a boat designed for this competition by Mark Mills Design and created by the New York Yacht Club. To ensure the most level playing field in international sailing, the Club purchased the first 20 IC37s and will use that fleet of perfectly matched yachts for the Invitational Cup for the foreseeable future.

The host team, led by Phil Lotz (NYYC Commodore, 2017 and 2018) won the inaugural competition, defeating 16 other clubs. The Royal Canadian Yacht Club (Toronto, Canada), led by Olympic silver medalist Terry McLaughlin, won in 2011 and 2013, followed by the Royal Thames Yacht Club (London, England) in 2015—with John Greenland on the helm—and Southern Yacht Club from New Orleans, La., in 2017, with Marcus Eagan skippering the yacht. In 2019, world champion sailor Guido Belgiorno-Nettis and his crew from Australia's Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron became the first team from the Southern Hemisphere to win the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. In 2021, Southern Yacht Club, led by Olympic silver medalist John Lovell, became the second club to claim a second Invitational Cup trophy. The team from San Diego Yacht Club, skippered by Tyler Sinks, won the 2023 edition. 

International yacht clubs apply to compete in the regatta. For United States yacht clubs, the path to the event is through the Resolute Cup, which is run on even years for domestic clubs and generally sailed in smaller one-design yachts. Teams from 51 yacht clubs from 23 countries and all six inhabited continents have competed in at least one edition of the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup.

IC Trophy Info and Past Winners

Invitational Cup
Wendy Yothers
2023
Trophy History: In 2023, Commodore Paul M. Zabetakis, MD, commissioned the current Invitational Cup trophy from artist Wendy Yothers. The silver punch bowl and base incorporate references to NYYC’s three historic clubhouses. The central medallion and foot of the trophy depict architectural elements from the landmark New York clubhouse, located on West 44th Street in Manhattan, including the exuberant cartouche over the front door and dramatic galleon windows. The base features portholes showing Station 10, NYYC’s first clubhouse, and Harbour Court, both located in Newport, RI.

Conceived by Commodore David K. Elwell Jr. and first held in 2009, the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup fosters Corinthian fleet competition among preeminent international Yacht Clubs. International yacht clubs apply to compete in the regatta. For United States yacht clubs, the path to the event is through the Resolute Cup, which is run on even years, and sailed in smaller one-design yachts.

Awarding of the Trophy:
The Invitational Cup is awarded biennially to a team representing a yacht club at the regatta bearing the same name. All competitors must be both World Sailing Group 1 competitors (i.e., amateur sailors) and full members of the club they are representing.
 

2025 Regatta Association Sponsors

2025 Regatta Association Partners