News in all directions
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TeamOrigin, the British syndicate, was accepted yesterday by the Société Nautique de Genève as the 3rd official challenger. The anticipated Wednesday announcement of the city to host the 33rd edition of the Cup has been put off until the end of August. The Americans have legal actions pending in the New York Supreme Court concerning the protocol proposed by ACM and Alinghi and Russel Coutts has signed on with Oracle.
ACM 2007/Carlo Borlenghi
It is hard to follow all the news but at least we can say is that the 33rd edition of the America's Cup has started with a bang. On one side, we roll out the welcome mats: ACM and Alinghi announced today the inscription and validation of a third syndicate to challenge for the 33rd edition. In effect the English team, TeamOrigin, have decided to attempt to recapture the Auld Mug which had been wrestled away from them in 1851 which they never have won back…
Furthermore, two points come together. Negotiations with the city of Valencia were at the point of conclusion but the Spanish press declared Tuesday morning that the meeting between Zapatero and Bertarelli will come out in a official report, normally previewed for this Wednesday, but now set for the end of August. The news trickles out and is contradictory. The minister of public Administration declared that despite the support of the Spanish government for the Valencia candidature as host, no formal accord could be signed before the end of August. Even though the issues with the city of Valencia concerning the commercial port and Formula 1 seemed to have been resolved, issues within the Spanish public entity who negotiates the event with America’s Cup Management, appear more difficult. Taking into account the level of decentralization in Spain, this entity, called Consorcio Valencia 2007, was for the previous edition, composed of members of Spanish central, local and regional administrations. In effect, each level would like to have substantial power for the next edition.
The ransom of success!
In short, in politics, nothing is simple. Since Oracle has launched them selves in a battle against the Protocol signed by Alinghi and the Desafio Español for the 33rd edition, things get more complicated by the day. The affair is now has now been carried to the New York Supreme Court and promises to make a few waves. We can easily imagine that the Spanish government for its part wishes to gain a little time to see how events turn out in the American courts.
The cherry on the news week cake, is the media blow yesterday by Larry Ellison on announcing the arrival of Russell Coutts within their team. The famous New Zealand helmsman is a three time winner of the Cup. It was a rumor circulating around the docks of Valencia for several months but in the actual context, has had its effect.
It is enough to say that the upcoming days will be full of breaking news.
Until the next episode!
Fdb/Lh July 25-2007