Yachting: Sailors' lawyer surprised by decision to go to appeal

12.00pm

A lawyer representing three sailors who mounted a successful bid to kept their Olympic hopes alive today said he was surprised by Yachting New Zealand's response.

YNZ is to appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, the world sport's highest disputes body, over two decisions by the New Zealand Sports Disputes Tribunal last week.

The tribunal allowed appeals by Laser sailor Andrew Murdoch and 470 crew Simon Cooke and Alastair Gair against the respective nominations of Hamish Pepper, and Andrew Brown and Jamie Hunt for Athens.

Lawyer Richard Brabant, who is acting for Murdoch, Cooke and Gair, said YNZ's move to going to the court of arbitration was "quite unexpected" given the calibre of the tribunal that had considered the appeals.

"Also, national sports organisations had bought into the tribunal as a way of speedily, efficiently and cheaply resolving appeals like this.

"To get the first decision that goes against a sport organising being appealed against is disappointing."

Brabant said he was concerned that the yachtsmen he represented were "being painted as bad people" who should have accepted the nominations and not taken legal action.

He said Murdoch, Cooke and Gair remained determined to try to get to Athens, but had found the latest development a difficult one and also had to face additional costs.

Brabant expected the court hearing to be in Sydney. He hoped the hearing would be given urgency and so it could take place in the next two to three weeks.

Two New Zealanders were likely to be on the three-person panel, whose verdict will be final.

YNZ can appeal to the court on two grounds -- on points of law or that the tribunal breached the rules of natural justice.

Its submissions have to be with the court by Friday.

YNZ chief executive Simon Wickham said the move to go to appeal was made after reviewing and reflecting on the tribunal's decisions, which had "surprised and staggered" YNZ.

He said those decisions significantly changed the way yachting had selected its Olympic team over the past 40 years.

"As arguably the leading medal-winning sport, we feel we've done a pretty responsible job of selection in the past," he said.

Pepper, and Brown and Hunt won their classes at the national Olympic trials in January.

But the tribunal found insufficient grounds to satisfy another part of YNZ's nomination criteria, that they had demonstrated the capability of achieving a top-10 finish in Athens.

It directed that the top three placegetters in the Laser trials should compete at the world championships in Turkey in May, and YNZ make its new nomination for the class after that.

It suggested the top three 470 finishers from the trials should go to the world championships in Croatia in May.

- NZPA