Statement from BMW Oracle
STATEMENT OF TOM EHMAN
Spokesman, Golden Gate Yacht Club
11 November 2008
[Source: BMW Oracle] Despite public comments in the past week by a senior Alinghi official that GGYC/BMW ORACLE Racing would be invited to participate in today’s America’s Cup meetings in Geneva “with no strings attached,” over the weekend Russell Coutts was advised by Alinghi that GGYC/BOR are being excluded from the meetings. Regrettably, therefore, we will not be in attendance.
We repeatedly have offered to drop our lawsuit on one simple condition – that Alinghi adopt fair and competitive rules.
It's important to remind the sailing community just how unfair and anti-competitive the proposed AC33 rules are. For example:
• The Defender, through ACM (the management company controlled by Ernesto Bertarelli), can change any of the rules at any time and can impose any new rule or restriction on the competitors. They only need the agreement of CNEV, the Defender’s compliant Challenger of Record.
• None of the Challengers, except CNEV, has any vote on any matter. Moreover, CNEV is specifically exempted from acting on behalf of the other Challengers.
• For the first time ever, the Challenger Selection Series is under the complete control of the Defender.
• The Defender, through ACM, selects all race officials and umpires.
While it is unfortunate that we won’t be part of the process, we are hopeful that the other Challengers can still achieve the goal of establishing fair rules with the Defender. If the Challengers can get Alinghi to fix the rules this would be a fantastic result and we can all move on.
Labels: 33rd America's Cup, Alinghi, BMW Oracle
19 Comments:
Drop it and enter.
You can't go to the meetings and then decide if you'll drop it, after the meeting. What do you expect ?
Drop it and enter.
I would like to have been invited also, but I haven't entered, so I don't expect to be invited.
You got a letter from 11 teams saying it was fair. What more do you need?
Drop it and enter... no one will think any less of you
too damn risky to drop the case without any guarantee from alinghi's part that things will work fairly this time around.
Hey "Sting Ray" - You tool!
~ Stingray ~
:)
Alinghi looks more and more like a throw back to the days of the Soviet Union, and with each passing day makes me wish that New York Yacht Club were back running the show. Does Ernesto realize he is also making heroes to many out of Ellison, Coutts and Ehman for standing up to Alinghi's arrogance? I wonder what Mascalzone had to say about Oracle's exclusion at today's meeting?
Half the 11 teams are hardly teams, more like shells. And Ernesto is missing several of the strong teams which sailed in AC32. Why weren't they invited? From my perspective, the BMW Oracle folks have made numerous compromises while Ernesto and Brad haven't budged an inch. Instead, they've insulted Russell Coutts and Tom Ehman. That's sportsmanship?
Oracle is starting to realize that their boat is sinking. Just quit whining, drop it, and become part of the AC community again ..... dumbbells!
This is all much ado about nothing.
Given the pending Appeal, we don't even know who the Challenger is, and we won't know until the New York Court of Appeals rules.
Should they rule in favor of SNG, then the America's Cup as we know it is over, and hope that GGYC, Oracle and BMW do not dignify that sailing parade with their presence.
Should GGYC prevail, then meetings like this are meaningless. Ernesto will then have no choice but to accept the Challengers offer of racing on terms per the Deed of Gift, or something like what America's Cup 32 was like.
Ernest of course will respond by accepting the offer to race in giant multihulls, and then instant sue in NY Supreme Court over the Custom House Registry, in the hope of getting GGYC tossed out as Challenger so he can then install RTYC.
Ernesto Bertarelli clearly has no intent of writing rules that were like the last 32 Cups. Otherwise, he would have done so by now.
Well at least ML will be able to talk some sense into the meeting today.
It's this simple: All entered teams are automaticaly invited to the meetings.
You've not entered? You don't meet!
Norberto and "embarassed in Geneva" - You don't need any guarantee from the Defender that things will work: It's a democratic process with ALL ENTERED teams.
In all it's history the cup has never been this fair.
Ehman has to stop quoting the paragraphs of last years FIRST protocol. That's over, There's a whole new process started a couple of weeks ago. And this time is democratic. And Oracle can have it's place in the process but at the same level as everyone else.
But it seems that Ehman is against that. He wants to rule by himself.
BMW Oracle is not better than Alinghi...
Remember 2003, they kept the ACC V5 rule in secret with Alinghi for a year. And in that time no one could enter the process. Was that fair?
In the 32nd AC protocol they agreed on the creation of ACM. Now they say is an Ernesto controlled company. It was also 4 years ago.
Alinghi needed GGYC to change the protocol and ban Russell Coutts from the 32nd, GYYC agreed on the rule about for how long a sailor could have sailed with a challenger...
The Challenger Commission had ZERO power, they could only lobby. With the Competitors Commission they can also do that (even out of the Cup they are doing it with all this propaganda machine: letters, court time lines, press releases, phone calls etc...)
GGYC and BOR where the Number One losers in the 32nd AC. The only team beaten by China Team and losing 5-1 against Luna Rossa the way they did. They paid the price for their arrogance.
Now I ask a question... What power has GGYC in BOR? Is it only the flag they wave? Tom Ehman is the spokesman, since when is he a member, as far in time I can imagine must be a little bit before Ellison chosed that Yacht club... Assuming that he is. So what if they have an annual regatta, GGYC are only vip guests in BOR's hospitality and probably only have a certain number of passes...
Its been a long time since Yacht Clubs are only a "symbol" in the AC. But on the other hand, how bad this CNEV thing was done... SNG created a huge backdoor in their "vision" Now, even if they win, the damage is done.
And I am also sick with Mascalzone asking for fairness. They were penalised by the paint they used on the boat, they did som "strange" moves from Italy to Uk with one of their boats, they had to re-race against Desafío in the LV for breaking the rules. Onorato, give me a break!!!
Go back in time... The British didn't want to race against America in 1851... In the beginning challengers had to sail to NY, was that fair? Only one challenger was accepted until 1971... In 1983, the Defender tried to ban Australia II from racing... then the catamaran in 1988... then the OneWorld case... The nationality rule... (For those saying that is a tradition of the Cup, just remember that in the old times many crews where Scandinavia)... and many many more.
The AC fair?... Mr Ehman you now that is not true... It has always been about winning at all costs and you know that ver well.
Go out there, enter the process, be a pain in the A*S to Alinghi, sail with Coutts, James Spithill and all the other great sailors, beat the sh*t out of them!!!!!!!! But after winning the CSS!!!
7:00 pm anonymous,by teams you mean all those alinghi's poodles?
7:00 pm anonymous, by teams you mean all those alinghi's poodles? this is what you call democratic? a very strong part dictates what it wants and all the other weaker parts agree with it so, voilá, you've got consensus.?
sorry, but in my book this is NOT democratic nor consensual, because consenting demands freewill.
Here we go again!
This fight will go on till the Appeal Court decision!
They won't make any step beyond in this situation.
Up to now, only bla ... bla ... bla ......
Can someone verify me that the NY Court is really the very latest legal step?
I heard the rumour that if Alinghi loses they will force an endless legal strategy that will keep BOR in Court for several more years.
Is that really possible?
... perhaps related to the Certificate of their boat and the validity of the GGYC? Thanks.
Norberto... I am sure the Royal NZ yacht club squadron and thames yacht club do not consider them selves poodles. The new teams that have entered diserve the chance to to race just Mascalzone, ariva, china,germany, shosholoza did for the 32nd cup. What is your argument.Its very simple. These are the entered teams. In a clear and very fair way each entered team has been given a chance to express their opinion in the way the 33rd will be raced etc. What are you talking about oh poodle of Larry.
2:20 pm anonymous - that they don't consider themselves poodles it's pretty much clear. it doesn't mean, however, they ARE not poodles. to be one, you don't need to consider yourself one; all you need is to act like one.
2:20 pm anonymous - very brave calling names on others hiding behind your coward anonimity (sp?). i post here under my complete name.
norberto marcher-mühle
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