The 8th Louis Vuitton Cup was held during July and August 2013, in San Francisco, California, United States of America. The three contenders were Artemis Racing (Sweden), Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand), and Luna Rossa Challenge (Italy). After a preliminary round robin to determine seeding, Artemis Racing was eliminated in the semi-final round by Luna Rossa Challenge by four races to none. In the final, Emirates Team New Zealand beat Luna Rossa Challenge by seven races to one, and went on to challenge Oracle Team USA for the 2013 America's Cup. The teams Twelve yacht clubs applied to challenge the America's Cup before the deadline, though their names were not originally disclosed. They included: Club Nautico di Roma (the original challenger of record, withdrew) Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet Circolo della Vela Sicilia Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Aleph Yacht Club (withdrew) Yacht Club de France (withdrew) Měi Fán Yacht Club Real Club Náutico de Valencia Club Canottieri Roggero di Lauria (failed eligibility) Sail Korea Yacht Club On August 2, 2012, the America's Cup Event Authority announced that, following withdrawals or failure to meet the eligibility criteria, only four challenging teams would compete: Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet's Artemis Racing, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Team New Zealand, Circolo della Vela Sicilia's Luna Rossa Challenge and Sail Korea Yacht Club's Team Korea In March, 2013, Team Korea withdrew, leaving three challengers. Shown in the order in which they applied, they were: Artemis Racing (SWE) The Challenger of Record, Artemis Racing represented the Royal Swedish Yacht Club and was led by skipper Iain Percy, helmsman Loick Peyron and America's Cup veteran Paul Cayard as tactician and CEO. The crew included Rodney Ardern, Magnus Augustson, Stuart Bettany, Curtis Blewett, Chris Brittle, Sean Clarkson, Juliean Cressant, Rodney Daniel, Andy Fethers, Thierry Fouchier, John Gimson, Kevin Hall, Phil Jameson, Iain Jensen, Santiago Lange, Andrew McLean, Craig Monk, Nathan Outteridge, Troy Tindill and coach Andrew Palfrey. Tom Schnackenberg was in charge of performance & design. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Led by Grant Dalton and skippered by Dean Barker, Team New Zealand won the America's Cup in 1995 and 2000 and the Louis Vuitton Cup in 1995 and 2007. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) Funded by Patrizio Bertelli, the Italian team previously won the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2000 and were runners-up in 2007. The crew included skipper Massimiliano Sirena, helmsman Paul Campbell-James, Chris Draper, Giulio Giovanella, Benjamin Durham,