America's Cup - Architect of NZ Qualifier withdrawal steps down

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com NZL on 23 Aug 2016 The Commissioner for the America's Cup General Dr. Harvey Schiller has stepped down from the role and will finish at the end of the month.

The move was confirmed today by America's Cup correspondent Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press.

Yesterday Dr. Schiller's Facebook page and LinkedIn profile both indicated that his tenure with the America's Cup Events Authority had ended in August 2016.

The Facebook entry was changed back to present tense during yesterday.

Last month the three-man Arbitration Panel of the 35th America's Cup met to hear a complaint lodged by Emirates Team New Zealand over the withdrawal of the America's Cup Qualifier Series originally to be staged in Auckland.

While there were a number of reasons for the withdrawal of the event, subsequent scheduled for Bermuda, Schiller told The Associated Press in late March 2015 the biggest was Team New Zealand 'bouncing back and forth on support' for the unprecedented mid-course downsizing.

The downsizing was a reference to the change nine months after entries had been opened for the 35th America's Cup to change from an AC62 class of yacht to the AC50.

Challenger of Record, Italian based Luna Rossa had issued a statement saying that the boat to be used in the America's Cup should only be changed with the unanimous agreement of all competitors. Emirates Team New Zealand supported that view in a note posted on social media. That comment triggered the near immediate withdrawal of the Qualifier which in turn triggered the withdrawal of NZ Government support for the team, creating a funding crisis and consequent downsizing of the team from running a two boat campaign in the AC45S with two sailing crews, to a single AC45S program and just one sailing crew. From being one of the first teams to get started in the America's Cup, Emirates Team, New Zealand has been one of the last. If not the last.

The Kiwi team went public with their claims and intention to take the matter to the Arbitration Panel set up to adjudicate on such matters for the 35th America's Cup, replacing the International Jury which had found against defender Oracle Team USA on several occasions in the previous America's Cup.

Earlier this year the majority of the teams competing in the 35th America's Cup signed a Protocol change which prohibited the disclosure of any dispute, or existence of an Arbitration Panel Hearing, or discussion of matters before the Arbitration Panel. However as Emirates Team NZ's actions were undertaken before the Protocol change, the genie was out of the bottle in this case.

Part of those actions were the disclosure of a Hosting Agreement between Emirates Team NZ and ACEA, with the signature page showing that it was signed by Dr. Schiller in his role as Commissioner for the America's Cup and responsible for all commercial and marketing related activities associated with the America's Cup. Kevin Shoebridge, Cheif Operating Officer for Emirates Team NZ, was the other signatory. It is believed that the substance of the agreement was negotiated on behalf of Team New Zealand by Sir Stephen Tindall.

No decision has been announced from the Arbitration Panel.