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Monday, November 25
 
Stars & Stripes asks OneWorld to be disqualified

Associated Press

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- The New York Yacht Club attacked Seattle rival OneWorld Challenge on a new front Monday, protesting its conduct and integrity to the America's Cup jury.

The protest by New York's Team Dennis Conner was placed before the jury after repechage races were postponed for the third consecutive day because of unsatisfactory wind conditions.

Conner's team already is part of an application to the Cup's Arbitration Panel seeking OneWorld's disqualification for possessing and using confidential design information belonging to Team New Zealand, Prada and 1999 challenger America True.

The New York club argues that OneWorld has breached Fundamental Rule 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing, the regulatory guidebook that governs all competitive sailing events.

Rule 2, entitled Fair Sailing, states ''a boat and her owner shall compete in compliance with recognized principles of sportsmanship and fair play.''

New York's protest cites its application to the Arbitration Panel, lodged jointly Sunday with the Italian challenger Prada, which accuses OneWorld of ''multiple gross violations'' of the America's Cup Protocol.

''But perhaps even more serious than those violations is the breach of the obligation by (OneWorld) to make full and frank disclosure of all the facts and in particular (its failure) to disclose all plans, specifications and design information in its possession,'' Team Dennis Conner said in its jury submission.

The New York club asked the jury to provide any assistance possible to the Arbitration Panel ''specifically by way of an urgent interpretation of the Racing Rules of Sailing''; that it disqualify OneWorld from the challenger series and America's Cup; and that ''for the good and integrity of the event'' it reschedule the repechages.

The Seattle team issued its formal response Monday to the Prada and New York application.

''The issues raised by the New York Yacht Club and the Yacht Club Punta Ala (Prada) are not new and have already been dealt with by the panel,'' OneWorld said. ''Raising them will serve no purpose beyond galvanizing the Seattle team to fight and win on the water where yacht racing belongs.''

The Panel penalized OneWorld one competition point when it found in August the team had restricted data belonging to other teams.

''We paid our penalty and now we will rise above this while others wallow in it,'' OneWorld said.





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