MADRID : Swiss champions Alinghi and US challengers Oracle said they failed on Wednesday to agree on a date for their multi-hull duel that is to decide the next America's Cup.

The failure of the negotiations between the two sides in Geneva means the New York Supreme Court, the trustee of the Deed of Gift, the 1887 document which details the competition's complex rules, might have to decide the issue.

The court last week backed Oracle in its legal challenge to Alinghi over the rules, setting the stage for a rare multi-hull face-off between the two sides - rather than a traditional regatta - to decide the oldest trophy in international sport.

However the two syndicates are still wrangling over the dates of the event, with Alinghi preferring July 2009 and the American team insisting on October 2008.

Alinghi, which won the cup for a second time last July, said it was "disappointed" with the outcome of the Geneva talks.

Oracle "adopted the same approach that it took last year coming to the meeting with a fixed position rather than to discuss and find a resolution in accordance" with the order of the New York court.

"There was not much progress," in the talks, Oracle spokesman Tom Ehman told AFP.

Oracle has already begun building a trimaran in the United States in preparation for the race.

Alinghi has said it cannot build a competitive multi-hull yacht by October and has requested another year to prepare in order to adequately defend their crown for what would be their third straight title in yachting's showpiece event.

Alinghi said a race this year, as sought by Oracle, is part of the Americans' "strategy to win the America's Cup at all costs as it would guarantee an absurdly miss-matched race".

Ehman said Oracle saw "no justification to delay", adding that "it is time to stop making excuses and get on with the race".

Alinghi retained the America's Cup by beating Team New Zealand in a hugely successful event in the Spanish port of Valencia in July.

In November the organisers indefinitely postponed the 33rd edition because of the uncertainty raised by Oracle's legal challenge.

It had been set to take place in Valencia in July 2009 as a traditional regatta involving several teams.

The 34th edition of the event is to be a regatta involving numerous challengers and take place in 2011 at a venue yet to be decided. - AFP/de