America’s Cup Arbitration Panel Adjourns

PRESS RELEASE
DECEMBER 8,2002

AMERICA’S CUP ARBITRATION PANEL ADJOURNS AFTER TWO DAYS HEARINGS – EARLIEST DECISION MONDAY

AUCKLAND, DECEMBER 8, 2002–The America’s Cup Arbitration Panel adjourned tonight after two days of hearings into an application for disqualification of the Seattle Yacht Club’s OneWorld Challenge for improper possession and use of other syndicates’ design information.

The five senior jurists who make up the Panel will meet tomorrow morning as they consider the merits of the application by the New York Yacht Club and the Yacht Club Punta Ala. For the last two days the Panel has heard cross-examination of witnesses for both sides, ending with lengthy summations this afternoon. Although a decision is possible tomorrow, it might take several days.

Notwithstanding the possibility of a finding against OneWorld Challenge, the first races in the Semi Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup competition to decide the challenger for the America’s Cup will start tomorrow at 1:00 PM local time, weather permitting.

The Seattle Yacht Club’s OneWorld is slated to sail against the Punta Ala Yacht Club’s Luna Rossa. In the other match, the Swiss challenger Alinghi will race the Oracle BMW Racing’s USA-76 from the San Francisco Yacht Club.

In a separate action, a protest by Team Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes against OneWorld under the Unfair Sailing Rule is scheduled to start at 6:00 PM tomorrow before the International Jury. The protest is linked to the case before the Panel and is contingent on its outcome. The hearing is expected to be delayed until the Panel reaches a decision.

OneWorld’s counsel Ian Thain acknowledged to the Panel today that Ian Mitchell, one of its designers, had a backup computer zip disk with design information from Team New Zealand in his possession in violation of the Protocol governing the conduct of the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup. He submitted it was a minor offence.

James Farmer, QC, for the applicants, said OneWorld had tried to recreate the benchmark that Team New Zealand had reached at the end of the last America’s Cup. OneWorld had done this by hiring Team New Zealand members and encouraging them to recreate the New Zealand designs as the springboard for its own design efforts.

While it awaits the outcome of the two cases, the crew of Team Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes has continued training and boat preparation to race in the coming series, in the event of a disqualification of OneWorld.

For additional coverage on the Official Louis Vuitton Cup web site, read “Arbitration Panel Starts Its Deliberations” http://www.louisvuittoncup.yahoo.com/story1313.html and “International Jury Set To Hear Rule Two Protest” http://www.louisvuittoncup.yahoo.com/story1302.html

Team Dennis Conner and the New York Yacht Club have partnered to put forth the finest team of American designers, sailors, boat builders and shore side support to win America’s Cup XXXI and return the America’s Cup to the United States. The America’s Cup season began on October 1, 2002 with a four-month challenger elimination series known as the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will challenge Team New Zealand for the right to defend the America’s Cup in a best of nine series starting on February 15, 2003.

Team Dennis Conner's platinum sponsor, Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE: CA) delivers the software that manages eBusiness. As the world’s third largest enterprise software company, CA provides industry-leading integrated solutions through strategic partnerships and powerful brands such as Unicenter®, BrightStor™, eTrust™, CleverPath™, Advantage™, Jasmine® and AllFusion™. With mission-critical software in security and storage, CA provides reliable, quality technology. For more information, visit www.ca.com.

Gold sponsors of the Team Dennis Conner America's Cup challenge include Citizen Watch Company (www.citizenwatch.com), proud maker of the new Eco-Drive Sailhawk, the official Stars & Stripes team watch, the ACE Group of Companies (www.acelimited.com), a premier global insurance and reinsurance organization, Airgas, Inc. (www.airgas.com), the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, welding, safety and related products. With an integrated network of nearly 800 locations nationwide--including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers--Airgas' national scale and strong local presence offer customers a competitive advantage and Bugatti (www.bugatti-auto.com), a legendary name in the automobile industry. The Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron is the newest product in the Bugatti family and boasts a top speed of 406 km/h and the ability to accelerate from a standstill to 300 km/h in under 14 seconds. The Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron will be introduced in the United States during a special tour with Team Dennis Conner next year.

Team Dennis Conner’s Silver sponsors are Nautica (www.nautica.com), the team’s official apparel sponsor and a leading global fashion and lifestyle company with products ranging from men's, women's and children's sportswear, denim and accessories to a complete home collection, Manugistics (www.manugistics.com), a leading software company that provides comprehensive solutions which enable companies to share inventory, pricing and planning information with customers and suppliers over the Internet and Viagra (www.viagra.com). Discovered and developed by Pfizer, Viagra is the breakthrough oral treatment for erectile dysfunction that has been found to be effective and well tolerated in over 100 completed and ongoing clinical studies. Viagra has been approved by regulatory authorities in 119 countries around the world and is among the most widely prescribed medications, with over 120 million prescriptions written for more than 20 million men.

Team Dennis Conner’s Suppliers are 3M, Air New Zealand, Airgas, Airtech, APL Limited, Arc Second, Bathysphere Digital Media Services, Columbus Line, Digi International, Dupont, Earth Tech, Itronix, Lewmar Marine, McLube, Media Bin, Munters, Nautica Eyewear, New England Ropes, Newport Adhesives & Composites, Omnisonics Medical, Pacer Technologies, Parker, Plastimo, Protector, Remy Amerique, Saucony, WiTango and Xygent.

ENDS

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