Arbitrator’s Ruling on Cup Defense Dispute Due Today

Retired state Superior Court Judge Charles W. Froehlich, the arbitrator in the dispute over whether the America’s Cup defense committee is valid, is expected to announce his ruling on the matter today.

Dennis Conner’s Sail America Syndicate, which won the Cup in Fremantle, Australia, in February, and the San Diego Yacht Club, under whose auspices Conner raced, had agreed to go to arbitration in the dispute over who was chosen to sit on the SDYC committee that will determine the location and rules of the next Cup.

Under an agreement with the yacht club, Sail America submitted the names of international yachting people it wanted to be in on the decision-making process. But Sail America’s candidates were not chosen, and the syndicate objected to the committee’s eventual makeup.

Sail America contended that the committee was stacked to virtually assure that San Diego would be selected as the next site for the America’s Cup in 1990-91.

Under the agreement, the committee was to consist of a simple majority of SDYC members. However, six of the seven members represented the SDYC, and the seventh was from nearby Coronado Yacht Club.

The yacht club attempted to compromise in May, but the syndicate was not satisfied with the offer.

Froehlich, who has heard five days of testimony, will decide whether the committee will remain as is, expand or change to include Sail America’s candidates.

The yacht club, which wants to be certain that the next America’s Cup is in San Diego, is not certain of Sail America’s commitment to the city.

Sail America has not publicly indicated a preference for any site. It has, however, refuted speculation that it wants the next Cup races to be in Hawaii.