Professor Cyril Smyth, Hon. President.

Professor Michael Hillery, Immediate Past President.

Professor Cyril White, Vice President.

Mr. Stephen Lipson, Hon. Secretary.

Mr. David Maley, Hon. Treasurer.

Mr. Eric Brady, Hon. Competitions Secretary.

Ian O’Sullivan, Adrian Doyle and Catherine Carroll, University College Cork.

Juilet Claffey and Kieran Murphy, University of Limerick.

Sylvia Lennon, Gregoir Cleary, Colm Farry and Eimear Smith, University College Dublin.

Mike Aughey, Dublin City University.

Deirdre O’Connor, National University of Ireland Galway.

Niall Linden, Kate O’Connor, Simon Geraghty and Stephen McArthur, University of Dublin.

Eugene O’Neill and Jerry Connolly, Dublin Institute of Technology.

Cathal Lombard, Incorporated Law Society

Patrick McGonagle, Letterkenny Institute of Technology.

David Reid, National College of Ireland.

Bernie O’Calleghan, (Unattached)

No delegates from National University of Ireland Maynooth, University of Ulster, Tralee Institute of Technology, Cork Institute of Technology, Carlow Institute of Technology, Waterford Institute of Technology and Tallaght Institute of Technology were present. Apologies were received, prior to the meeting from Mr. David Donaghy, University of Ulster, Ms. Jennifer Healy, Tralee Institute of Technology, and Ms. Marie Gallagher, Tallaght Institute of Technology.

The meeting was called to order at 14.13hrs. The Hon. President, Professor Cyril Smyth, chaired the meeting. He welcomed all of the delegates to the meeting and thanked those who had travelled some distance to be present. A roll call was taken by the Hon. Secretary, Mr Stephen Lipson. There being delegates from six of the nine Members and four of the nine Associate Members also present, the meeting was declared to be quorate.

At the request of the President a one minutes silence was observed as a mark of respect for the late Noel Carroll.

In an effort to speed up proceeding the minutes of the 1997 Annual General Meeting had been circulated to all parties concerned in the weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting. The President took the minutes as been read. The minutes were then proposed by Mr. Ian O’Sullivan and seconded by the Competitions Secretary, Mr. Eric Brady.

The President clarified that the Overall Outdoor Track and Field Cup had been awarded to the University of Limerick, and that the rota for championships, which currently extends to 2002, will be updated next year.

The Hon. Secretary’s Report had been circulated prior to the Annual General Meeting. The Hon. Secretary stated that it was a very detailed report and that he had nothing further to add to it. The Hon. Competitions Secretary pointed out that the Hon. Secretary had covered most of the issues in the report but that he would like to add a few points at this moment, rather than under item 5 on the agenda. The President, taking this to be a reasonable request, asked the Hon. Competitions Secretary to proceed. The Hon. Competitions Secretary pointed out that there was a drastic shortage of helpers at the championships and in particular at the indoor Track and Field championships. The Trinity helpers at the indoor championships had been drafted in at the last moment and this might not be possible again this year. He went on to say that the structure of the Multievents needed to be carefully looked at as the event was in danger of collapsing through lack of participation.

The adoption of the report was proposed by the Immediate Past President, Professor Michael Hillery and seconded by Mr. Patrick McGonagle. The President then opened the report for discussion by the floor. The Immediate Past President inquired if the Celtic Cross Country would be an annual event. The President stated that everybody concerned is keen to have the event on an annual basis but at present the event has no sponsorship and requires three months organisation solely by the IUAA. The President explained that he would like to see it been held on a biannual basis, so as it could be used as a preparation race for the World Student Cross Country Championships. The Immediate Past President then suggested that it could be held in Wales. The President pointed out that Wales was in the process of building an Indoor Track and were thinking of hosting a Celtic International meeting there. The Vice President, Professor Cyril White, suggested that it could be called the Celtic International Title and that is should include the Universities in Brittany. The discussion then moved on to the problems surrounding the World Student Cross Country Championships. The Immediate Past President asked if the team manager Mr. Patrick McGonagle would like to comment on the issues raised by the Secretary in his report. Mr. McGonagle declined to comment. The next issue raised by the Secretary in his report was the retirement of the Vice President as chief starter for the IUAA. The Immediate Past President states that the IUAA is indebted to the Vice President for his loyal services over the years. The Vice President points out that he is still available to help, but not in the capacity of chief starter. He also pointed out that the need for new faces on the IUAA executive had reached crisis point.

The Accounts had been circulated prior to the Annual General Meeting, but the Treasurer, Mr. David Maley, felt that some of the differences between last years and this years figures needed explaining. In particular the dramatic increase in the cost of the Antrim trip. The treasurer explained that this years figure included the cost of singlets whereas the previous years figure did not. The Treasurer also took the opportunity to thank the President for the excellent job that he did in organising the Celtic International Cross Country. This got the approval of the floor.

Mr. Gregoir Cleary queried the £730.70 expenses for the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Treasurer pointed out that the medals and the commemorative medals came to £630. Mr Cleary went on to say that UCD hadn’t as of yet claimed their grant from the IUAA for the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He was informed that the money would be paid upon production of accounts. The adoption of the report was proposed by Mr. Gregoir Cleary and seconded by Mr. Adrian Doyle.

This had been dealt with in item 3 above.

The President explained that some timing problems had occurred at the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also pointed out that the order in the men’s 5000m was unknown after eighth position and that his inquiries among the various clubs had turned up very few responses. The President also added that the correct number of laps had been completed in the men’s 10000m this year. The UCD delegation added that there had been timing problems in several races. The Vice President pointed out that the lack of times in the men’s 100m was due to a technical fault.

Mr Adrian Doyle commented on the stolen bags at the Cross Country Championships. The President expressed the view that Dublin Institute of Technology had done their job properly and that the incident was unfortunate. Mr. Doyle accepted this but explained that he felt it should be mentioned so at to draw the issue of security to the attention of everybody present. Ms. Deirdre O’Connor stated that the National University of Ireland, Galway had given the issue of security at this years Cross Country Championships considerable thought and that the University, as hosts, were confident that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the previous years thefts. The President pointed out that where possible, valuables should be given to non competing members of the team to safe guard.

The President thanked all the hosts of the various Intervarsity Championships through the year and added that he felt that they were a very fitting way to celebrate 125 years of Intervarsity Athletics. The President went on to say that he had enjoyed the last two years as President. He than proceeded to summarise the Presidential Report that had been circulated prior to the Annual General Meeting, emphasising the point that he had made in the report regarding the treatment of trophies.

The President informed the meeting that CUSAI had asked the IUAA to forward standards for the World Student Games and the IUAA would be doing this next week, but he pointed out that the IUAA could only suggest standards and that the final decision was CUSAI’s. The IUAA web site was now up and running and was designed to be functional. The President went on to talk about the World Student Games and FISU records. At this point the UCD delegation expressed the view that the qualifying standards from previous years looked erratic. The President pointed out that if the games were far away from Ireland the standards tended to be higher as an athlete had to be very serious if they expected to be sent. The IUAA and CUSAI must not appear to be soft and must not send people who are not up to the task.

The President then moved on to talk about the position of Team Manager for the World Student Games. CUSAI had expressly asked for a Manager but would consider sending a Coach if the Manager recommended it. CUSAI always sent a coach and a manager to the World Student Cross Country Championships but despite this and the fact that the manager at the previous World Student Games had stated that a coach was essential, CUSAI were still insisting on a Manager only, for the moment. The President put it to the floor that the IUAA should nominate a Manager. Mr. Niall Linden then proposed the President, Professor Cyril Smyth. The Vice President seconded the nomination. Ms. Juilet Claffey then nominated Mr. Drew Harrison. Mr. Mike Aughey seconded the nomination. Mr. Patrick McGonagle was nominated by Mr. Bernie O’Calleghan and seconded by Ms. Sylvia Lennon. At this point the President stated that he would leave the room to enable a decision to be made. He handed the chair over to the Vice President. Mr. McGonagle also left to room.

A very detailed discussion followed resulting in the election of the President, Prof. Cyril Smyth, as the IUAA’s nomination for the position of team manager for the World Student Games. The nominees returned and the chair was handed back to the President. The Immediate Past President put it to the floor that the IUAA should also propose a coach and should offer to pay for one of the two nominees, providing that they were both from the IUAA. Mr Bernie O’Calleghan pointed out that he had offered to pay his own way when he was coach but that CUSAI did not accept the idea of sending a coach along with the manager. The President pointed out that there were new faces on the CUSAI executive and that he felt CUSAI had changed. The Vice President suggested that the IUAA would propose to CUSAI that a Manager and a Coach should be sent. The Immediate Past President then nominated Mr. Drew Harrison. Mr. Ian O’Sullivan said that he felt that the decision should be put off until Maynooth. The nomination was withdrawn.

Hon. President: The current President was eligible for re-election for an additional year, but the position was also open to additional nominations.

Professor Cyril Smyth was nominated by Mr. Stephen Lipson and seconded by Mr. Niall Linden. No other nominations were received and Professor Cyril Smyth was deemed re-elected for one additional year.

Professor Michael Hillery remains on as the Immediate Past President.

Vice President: Professor Cyril White was nominated by Mr. David Maley and seconded by Mr. Gregoir Cleary. No other nominations were received and Professor Cyril Whith was deemed re-elected.

Hon. Secretary: Mr. Stephen Lipson still had one more year left as Hon. Secretary and indicated to the meeting that he wished to continue in the position.

Hon. Treasurer: Mr. David Maley was nominated by Mr. Patrick McGonagle and seconded by Mr. Eric Brady. No other nominations were received and Mr. David Maley was deemed re-elected.

Hon. Competitions Secretary: Mr. Eric Brady was nominated by Mr. Gregoir Cleary and seconded by Mr. Colm Farry. No other nominations were received and Mr. Eric Brady was deemed re-elected.

Hon. PRO: Mr. Ian O’Sullivan was nominated by Mr. Adrian Doyle and seconded by Mr. David Maley. No other nominations were received and Mr. Ian O’Sullivan was deemed elected.

All the above elections were carried by a show of hands, unless otherwise stated.

The President explains to the meeting that a motion was received from University College Cork, in addition to the motions circulated to all delegates prior to the meeting. The motion required major constitutional changes and seeing as it had been agreed in previous years that the constitution shouldn’t be altered until next year, the President felt that this motion be put off until next year. The President went on to ask the meeting if the rules of competition can be separated from the constitution, as if they cannot, all proposed rule changes would have to be put off until the following year. The Immediate Past President clarified this point in more detail. The Vice President suggests that any rule changes be given three years to see if their change has the desired affect. He also points out that rule changes are more pressing than constitutional changes and that there were problems with Members and Associate Members having undergone name changes in recent years. The President then asks the meeting if the rules of competition can me amended. The meeting responds positively.

Motion 1 concerned the number of one year down athletes on the men’s Cross Country team. This motion had been proposed by the IUAA executive. The Secretary explained the reasoning behind the proposed change. The Immediate Past President explained the events regarding this rule that had taken place at the previous AGM. The Competitions Secretary clarified that everyone on the team would receive a medal.

The motion was carried by 11 votes in favour and 0 votes against. Clause7.5.2 was amended to read

Motion 2 concerned the number of one year down athletes on the Women’s Cross Country team. This motion had been proposed by the IUAA executive. The reasons for proposing it had been the same as for motion 1 above. Ms. Juliet Claffey proposed that it be amended to read 4 rather than 3 one year down athletes. This was seconded by Mr. Simon Geraghty. This amendment to the proposal was passed by a show of hands.

The motion was carried by 11 votes in favour and 0 votes against. Clause7.5.3 was amended to read

Motion 3 had been proposed by the University of Limerick and entailed adding the Pole Vault for Women to the list of events for the Indoor Track and Field. The President draws the meetings attention to the fact that the introduction of a Pole Vault for men had been rejected two years ago as it would be hard to program into the timetable. He went on to say that he could see the idea behind encouraging new events and that if the above motion was to be passed it should be amended to include a pole vault for men. Ms Juliet Claffey stated that she was unaware that there was no pole vault for men and that she agreed with the President when he said that the motion should be amended to include men. She also added that there were very few pole vault competitions during the year and that its inclusion would give athletes another chance to compete. Ms. Juliet Claffey then proposed that it be amended to include pole vault for men as well as women. This was seconded by Mr. David Maley. This amendment to the motion was passed by a show of hands. Mr. Gregoir Cleary stated that athletes didn't want to wait around for the pole vault competition to finish. Mr. Colm Farry pointed out that the time table was tight enough already. Ms. Juliet Claffey explained that she wouldn't have asked for a pole vault if it was only for two athletes. Mr. Niall Linden said that it was too cold in Nenagh for proper performances to be achieved. Mr. Bernie O'Calleghan said that the pole vault should be encouraged. At this point Mr. Patrick McGonagle and Mr. Bernie O'Calleghan gave their apologies and left. The Vice President explained that the executive would like to include the pole vault but that the executive felt that it was not practical and that the Indoor competition was difficult enough to run as it stood. Mr. Simon Geraghty stated that he felt an event shouldn't be excluded on the basis of a lack of time, and that if time was a problem then the event should be held on a Saturday and Sunday. It was pointed out that the event couldn't be on a Sunday for religious reasons. Mr. Colm Farry suggested that any Member/Associate Member competing in the pole vault should be required to provide a helper. Motion 3, including amendment, was passed by eight votes in favour and seven votes against.

Motion 4 had been proposed by the University of Limerick and involved allowing up to two teams from each Member/Associate Member to compete in the relay events in the Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Immediate Past President pointed out that last year a similar motion had been submitted by UCD in relation to the Cross Country Championships and that it had been deemed unfair to the smaller Member/Associate Members. The President then pointed out that at County Championship, FISU and International level only one team was allowed, and that a specific relay competition was different to a Track and Field Championships. Ms. Juliet Claffey asked that if there was a spare lane could a non-scoring team be fielded. It was pointed out that such a move could leave the IUAA open to Guests wanting to compete. The President suggested a B Final, but this was rejected by the Immediate Past President. The Vice President stated that team championships were very important and that giving people a run should not affect the rules of a championship and should be accommodated, but not in the rules. At this point Ms. Juliet Claffey withdrew motion 4.

Motion 5 had been proposed by the University of Limerick and involved allowing up to two teams from each Member/Associate Member to compete in the relay events in the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Based on the discussion for Motion 4 Ms. Juliet Claffey withdrew motion 5.

At this point Ms Sylvia Lennon and Mr Gregoir Cleary gave their apologies and left.

Motion 6 relates to section 7.2.3. of the Rules of Championship and had been proposed by the President. The President explained that the executive had had a very detailed discussion prior to the AGM and had agreed that the motion should not come from an individual. The President then withdrew the motion, but stated that he wanted to alert Members/Associate Members to the following issues relating to section 7.2.3.

The Immediate Past President stated that he felt that Colleges in Ireland should affiliate to the IUAA instead of guesting under the FISU rule and that maybe we should include the ‘Guest’ clause in the FISU clause. Mr. Colm Farry wondered what the situation was in the UK. Nobody was to sure. The Competitions Secretary explained that he understood it to be only IUAA athletes who could win medals and that we should focus on Irish Colleges.

Mr. Niall Linden then proposes that Motion 6 should be amended to include the ‘Guest’ clause and then reintroduced for the meeting to vote on. This was seconded by Ms. Kate O’Connor. Mr. Niall Linden went on to point out that, at the Captains meeting after the Track and Field championships in April 1998, the consensus among those present was that only IUAA athletes should win medals. The Competitions Secretary stated that he was reluctant to go ahead with the amended motion 6 as athletes in smaller colleges, who wanted to compete and win medals would be unable to do so because their college wouldn’t affiliate, would be discriminated against. The President informed the meeting that there would be an opportunity to amend the constitution next year to help cater for athletes in colleges who wouldn’t affiliate and that if we passed the amended motion 6 today then we could run into constitutional problems. The Vice President stated that the amended motion 6 would affect the constitution. The President pointed out that the issue was a very difficult one that required a lot of very careful thought. At this point the TCD delegation informed the meeting that they wished to continue with the amended motion 6. The Competitions Secretary then suggested that an EGM be called in Maynooth so as to give people time to think everything through properly. At this point the Vice President insisted that if we weren’t going to vote on the motion today then we should all think about it for another year. The amended motion 6 was passed by a show of hands by eleven votes to five. Section 7.2.3 now reads as follows:

Motion 7 dealt with the method of scoring in the Overall Combined Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships. This motion had originally been proposed by the President but was now been proposed by the IUAA executive. The President had tabled four possible methods of scoring, one of which was the current method. These methods had been circulated to all delegates prior to the meeting. The President informed the meeting that the IUAA executive was in favour of method number four. Mr. Ian O’Sullivan felt that method number three was better, but the Competitions Secretary pointed out that number three didn’t include men number five and six, thus meaning that an incomplete men’s team could help win the trophy. At this point Mr. Colm Farry gave his apologies and left. After further discussion motion 7, number four was passed by thirteen votes in favour and three votes against. Section 7.5.4 now reads as follows:

The 21st November1998 was chosen for the Maynooth Road Relays.

A vote for the dates for the Indoor Track and Field Championships resulted in the 4th/5th December 1998 been chosen as the first choice date and the 11th/12th December 1998 as the second choice date, with the understanding that if the first choice date was unavailable the second choice date would be used.

The 6th March 1999 was chosen for the Cross Country Championships. They were to be hosted by the National University of Ireland, Galway.

The 23rd/24th April were chosen for the Track and Field Championships. They were to be hosted by the Queen’s University of Belfast.

With no further item to be discussed the President thanked all the delegates remaining in the room for coming, informed them that there was tea and biscuits available for those who wished to avail of them and wished everyone a safe journey home. The meeting concluded at 17.45hrs.

Proposed by…………………………………

Seconded by…………………………………

…………………………………Cyril J. Smyth

Hon. President IUAA

Date………………….

Minutes compiled by the Hon. Secretary, Mr. Stephen Lipson.