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The New Zealand team says they will “move heaven and earth” to try to get the two eliminated America’s Cup pitches back in play.
That will require delicate mediation with the strained relationships between defenders and challengers.
The bosses of Team New Zealand and Auckland City say agreements were made between the America’s Cup parties last February on limited use of the two main courses that have now been erased from the agenda for next year’s crucial races.
Emirates Team NZ
New Zealand’s AC75 Te Aihe beat North Head.
A decision by the arbitration panel has ruled that because the two courses, located near North Head and Takapuna Beach that offer good public visibility, cannot be used for the entire regatta, they should not be used at all, essentially supporting the ” all or nothing ”argument.
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They were an essential part of the New Zealand team’s plans to offer a publicly available regatta and New Zealand team boss Grant Dalton wants them to return.
“We as advocates would absolutely move heaven and earth to change this. It is a tragedy at the time that the Challenger of Record via Luna Rossa could destroy the public’s ability to look from the point of view,” Dalton said . Newstalk ZB on Friday.
RNZ
The New Zealand team boss says he wants to find a solution to a riot over the use of the America’s Cup pitches inside Waitematā harbor.
“And more particularly, this has always been our vision to have this and show Auckland and New Zealand to the world on television. Therefore, this organization will move heaven and earth and is already talking to the council, the ports of Auckland, the harbor master to see if we can change this.
“But there is no right of appeal. It will have to be an agreement reached with Luna Rossa, the official challenger.”
Luna Rossa’s move, as the union in charge of the three challengers, came amid fears that the Kiwis would train on the fields planned for the America’s Cup match and the Prada Cup final, while the challengers raced in the other three zones.
Luna Rossa claims they only found out about the situation in the field in September, but that has been discussed.
Emirates Team New Zealand / Supplied
A graph showing the routes eliminated for the America’s Cup regattas, after a ruling by the Refereeing Panel.
Nick Hill, independent chairman of AC36’s group of joint CEOs, questioned that timeline, saying the courses were agreed upon by all parties, including the official challenger and advocate in February 2020.
Hill now heads the Auckland Council Event and Economic Development Agency, a merger of the former ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Event Economic Development) and RFA (Auckland Regional Facilities), and wants the matter resolved quickly.
“We have made it clear that the parties must work together to resolve these issues as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement issued Thursday.
“The uses of the fields and the parameters around their use were agreed upon by all agencies, including the challenger of the record representative and the defender in February.
“We look forward to seeing an event where Auckland locals and visitors can share the experience, an event that will show Auckland to the world, and we will work with the parties to help achieve that result.”
DUNCAN JOHNSTONE / Things
Luna Ross’a new AC75 was launched this week.
Dalton felt that Auckland City’s statement validated the defender’s outrage against Luna Rossa.
“The city’s overnight statement is pretty clear evidence that they were aware that a deal was made and fixed because the Auckland ports and the harbormaster wanted it that way. We have no problem. with that, we agree. We were represented at that meeting, the Challenger of Record Luna Rossa was represented at that meeting and they agreed at that time, “Dalton told Newstalk ZB.
“There was a deal in February of this year where they knew through Auckland ports and through the port captain, as we both did, that they did not [get access to the courses] during that period of time and they agreed. That has been verified by the council in its overnight statement. It’s a bit late now to try to start litigating again or rewriting history. “
He gave the Italians the benefit of the doubt, noting that they had a significant management review in March and perhaps the key message from the February meeting had not been communicated to the new officials.
“If it was going to be charitable, possibly that message that they had already agreed was not conveyed. If it weren’t going to be charitable, I would say that the COR (Challenger of Record) is misleading the New Zealand public and misleading the arbitration panel, ”said Dalton.
The arbitration panel’s decision was a 2-1 majority and there appears to be no availability to appeal, but there is a provision for teams to move around a table and defeat it.
How successful that can be remains to be seen. The war of words intensifies.
TEAM EMIRATES NZ
Team New Zealand and American Magic meet in practice in Auckland, giving an idea of what the action of the America’s Cup will be like.
Luna Rossa said in a statement: “The Emirates Team New Zealand attacks are intended solely to discredit the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team under populist pretexts that tend to mask the attempt to gain an unfair advantage over the challengers who, we repeat, unanimously supported COR 36 by each presenting their own independent presentation. “
With a significant amount of public money at stake, and with the presumption that Auckland and New Zealand would get insider exposure, outside influences are sure to come into play.
How successful that can be remains to be seen.
The stakes are high and, as Luna Rossa captain Max Sirena said earlier in the week: “There are no friends at the America’s Cup.”
