Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the IUAA held in Earlsfort Terrace, University College Dublin, on Saturday 30^th October 1999.

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.

Mr. Ian O’Sullivan, Hon. PRO.

Patrick Maloney and Catherine Carroll, University College Cork.

Siobhan O’Keeffe and John Stacey, University of Limerick.

Sylvia Lennon, Keir McNamara and Brian O’Donoghue, University College Dublin.

George Hughes and Jacqueline Mulhall, Dublin City University.

Muriel Cummins, Cora O’Reilly and Iain Morrison, University of Dublin, Trinity College.

Conor McGee, National University of Ireland - Maynooth.

Noel Pollock, Queen’s University Belfast.

Eugene O’Neill and Paul Campbell, Dublin Institute of Technology.

Tilottama Nandy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. (observer capacity)

No delegates from National University of Ireland Galway, University of Ulster, Cork Institute of Technology, Waterford Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology - Tallaght, Institute of Technology - Tralee, Institute of Technology - Carlow, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, The Incorporated Law society of Ireland and The National College of Ireland were present. Apologies were received, after the meeting from Mr. Colin Byrne, Waterford Institute of Technology.

The meeting was called to order at 13.45hrs. 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 seven of the nine Members and one of the nine Associate Members also present, the meeting was declared to be quorate. The President went on to thank everyone for their support over the previous three years. The Immediate Past President, Prof. Michael Hillery, congratulated the President on doing such an excellent job. The Vice President, Prof. Cyril White, adds to the immediate past presidents statement and points out that the President has given up a lot of his time over the last three years and has put the IUAA firmly on the map, and hopes that the President will continue on the executive. The Secretary apologies for the late arrival of the notices detailing the minutes of the previous AGM along with additional information and adds that there are additional copies available.

1. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 1998.

In an effort to speed up proceeding, the minutes of the 1998 Annual General Meeting had been circulated to all parties concerned in the week prior to the Annual General Meeting. The President took the minutes as been read. The Vice President pointed out that the Secretary had miss quoted him on the 5^th line up from the bottom of the 2^nd page of the minutes and that the word ‘should’, should have been the word ‘could’. The minutes were then proposed by Ms. Sylvia Lennon and seconded by Mr. Keir McNamara.

2. Matters arising from the Minutes.

No matters were raised.

3. Hon. Secretary’s Report.

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 Immediate Past President congratulated the secretary on the excellent job that he had done over the previous two years.

The adoption of the report was proposed by the treasurer, Mr. David Maley and seconded by Ms. Sylvia Lennon. The President then opened the report for discussion by the floor. The President than made reference to the secretary’s reference to the IUAA web page. He apologised for the delay in getting information onto the page and explained that it was due to a tightening of security in Trinity as the result of a hacker been arrested within Trinity. The tightening of security was a problem as the IUAA webmaster, Mr. David Maley was based in Queens.

4. Hon. Treasurer’s Report.

The Accounts had been circulated prior to the Annual General Meeting. The Treasurer, Mr. David Maley, stated that he felt they were self explanatory, as the previous two years accounts were also presented and was prepared to answer any question regarding the accounts.

The immediate past president asked if the current balance was in fact £4085 to the good. The treasurer confirmed that this was indeed the case. The Vice President queried if everyone hadn’t paid their membership fee. The treasurer informed him that Letterkenny Institute of Technology had not paid. The President pointed out that no athletes from the institution in question had competed last season. The vice president stated that this was a very serious issue and that everyone must be made to pay. Mr. Brian O’Donoghue queried the amount of money paid to UCD in connection with expenses for the Outdoor Track and Field Championships and added that he would talk to the treasurer after the meeting. The President pointed out that from this year forward all hosts must claim expenses within the financial year. The adoption of the report was proposed by Ms. Siobhan O’Keefe and seconded by the immediate past president, Prof. Michael Hillery.

5. Hon. Competitions Secretary’s Report.

This had been dealt with in item 3 above.

6. Review of 1998-99 IUAA Championships.

The President apologised for the lack of electronic timing at the Indoor Track & Field Championships and assured the meeting that it was an oversight that wouldn’t happen again. The president went on to explain the situation that had arisen in Belfast at the Outdoor Track & Field Championships regarding the disqualification of athletes from the relay competition. The IAAF rules clearly state that once somebody has started an event, that they don’t then withdraw from the next round because in doing so they are automatically disqualified from the relay. It is up to the athletes to familiarise themselves with the main rules governing track & field athletics. The president reiterated these previous statements so as to make these rules clear, to prevent similar problems from arising in the future.

The immediate past president wondered how the new scoring system affected the results in the overall trophy in the cross country championships. The PRO, Mr. Ian O’Sullivan, stated that he thought it was fair. The President outlined the problems with the old scoring system and explained why he felt the new system was fairer.

The issue of the introduction of the pole vault at the indoor Track & field championships was raised. The president stated that it had gone well at last years championships and that the competitors had helped to ensure that it ran smoothly. The secretary thanked all the people who had helped at the indoor championships and hoped that people would be as willing to help at this years championships.

The immediate past president raised the issue of incorporating the multi-event championships into the outdoor track & field championships and stated that he had felt that it had worked very well. Mr. Noel Pollock stated that as the hosts, QUB felt that it had worked very well. The vice president pointed out that there were a lot of NIAF officials present in Belfast and that there could possibly be a shortage of officials in future years to ensure the smooth running of the event. The president explained that the time table for the outdoor track & field championships had required a few alterations but that it allowed people to compete in both championships. The only problem was that the officials had to be careful when scoring the events, so as to make sure that people got the correct number of jumps or throws and that multi event points were only awarded for the first three attempts. The immediate past president inquired if this meant that multi event athletes could get six attempts. The president stated that they only got three unless they were actually competing in the event, in which case they would be allowed six jumps if they qualified for an extra three jumps.

Ms. Catherine Carroll, then stated that she felt that athletes withdrawing from a race/final, should be allowed compete in the relays. The vice president responded to this statement by reading out the Rule in Question from the IAAF handbook which stated that the disqualification of an athlete from a relay was a ‘recommendation’, and stating that in his view a ‘recommendation’ was a rule. The immediate past president responded by saying that a ‘recommendation’ implies ‘at the discretion of the ruling body’. He went on to state that this was the AGM of the Ruling Body and that this issue should be discussed. The vice president explains that the inclusion of an athlete who has no intention of competing in the next round upon qualification, acts to eliminate another athlete, which is not fair, and the athlete in question deserves to be disqualified from the relay. The President pointed out that the added problem of six lanes in Belfast made it even more imperative that the ‘recommendation’ was enforced. The immediate past president stated that the IUAA should try and be inclusive of athletes at all times. The president stated that even with eight lanes, people might try and get to the final and not start, thus depriving another athlete of a place in the final and possible points. The immediate past president expressed the view that it was a hard rule if it knocks someone out of a relay as well. At this point the treasurer suggested that a decision should be made and to do that the issue should be put to the floor for a vote. Mr. Brian O’Donoghue inquired that if someone withdraws in plenty of time then would this allow the 9^th person in. The President responded by explaining that the 9^th athlete may have gone home on the Friday night, and that IAAF rules don’t allow for the promotion of the 9^th athlete in the event of one of the first eight athletes withdrawing. The athlete should line up, so as to insure their participation in the relay, but not actually run the race. The vice president then clarified his position in relation to the two incidents in Belfast and explained that the first one didn’t directly involve a relay but that two different decisions could not be given, for the two incidents in question. Ms. Jacqueline Mulhall then asked if Belfast had set a precedent which should be upheld in future years. The President stated that some problems could have been avoided if they had been put in the programme, especially seeing as a six lane track was being used. The treasurer stated that he felt this remark was being made in hindsight. The vice president pointed out that the six lanes made the enforcement of this recommendation even more contentious. The Competitions Secretary, Mr. Eric Brady, stated that all issues could be solved if semi-injured people lined up and took 2 steps. Dr. Iain Morrison stated that this could be abused. The competitions secretary expressed the view that we weren’t going to get an answer today. Mr. Keir McNamara inquired if other governing bodies applied the recommendation. The President responded by stating that BLE enforce the recommendation. The President then expressed the view that if someone clearly pulls a muscle and if they inform the IUAA executive immediately after the race then maybe they could be allowed to compete the next day. The treasurer stated that this still meant that the issue was a grey area. Responding to this the president that stated that the recommendation should be enforced in full. The treasurer agreed saying that anything other than a full enforcement of the recommendation would lead to a grey area. The immediate past president stated that he felt people could recover in time for a relay and should be allowed compete, but if people started abusing the situation then this is when the IUAA executive should step in. Ms. Catherine Carroll states that the recommendation should be either black or white, but not in-between. The immediate past president pointed out that a disqualification from the relay discriminates against the club and not just the individual in question. The PRO stated that it was up to the club to ensure that its athletes know the rules. The president then expressed the view that we weren’t going to reach a decision today and that for the moment, athletes should turn up on the line. Mr. Patrick Maloney then inquired if it was a ‘rule’ or a ‘discretion’. The competitions secretary responded by stating that it was a ‘rule’ to be exercised at the IUAA executives discretion.

7. Hon. President’s Address.

The Presidential Report had been circulated prior to the Annual General Meeting. The President thanked all the athletes for their support throughout the three years of his Presidency and added that there were two points that he wished to highlight. The first was the Antrim Triangular International which took place the previous June. The President thanked all the athletes who travelled, including the two Captains. It had been the most successful race meeting from the IUAA’s view point. Secondly, the President thanked everyone for nominating him to CUSAI last year. It had been an incredible experience which he wouldn’t forget, but it had also been very hard work which wasn’t helped by the fact that he missed his flight out to the games and then proceeded to slide down the road upon his arrival, having slipped on an oil slick. The Games had been excellently organised and the standard of athletics was world class. The President went on to say that he had been overjoyed for Karen Shinkens, that Thomas Coman had run out of his skin and that Peter Coughlan had put Irish hurdles firmly on the map. The team spirit within the term had been excellent and was summed up in the way that everyone came out to support everyone else. The President summed up by saying that he hoped that everyone would give his successor the same amount of support that they had given to him.

8. Universidade 1999 - Review.

This item had been largely covered by the President in his address. The President pointed out that next time the final date by which the qualifying standard must be reached would be later than this year as the games were been held in late summer as opposed to early in the summer, which was the case this year. It was suggested from the floor that CUSAI appoint a team manager by next summer to speed up the release of standards for the games in 2001.

The competitions secretary then brought up the issue of the World Student Cross Country Championships, which would be taking place the following March in Jena and informed the floor that to date the IUAA had heard nothing regarding the position of Manager or Coach. Mr. Brian O’Donoghue inquired if selection would be based on the Intervarsity Championships. He was informed that as in the previous year the IUAA would do everything to ensure that the Intervarsity Championships was used as one of the qualifying races. It was agreed that the secretary would write to CUSAI and ask for the relevant forms.

At this point it was noticed that the Report of the Hon. PRO had been left off the agenda. The Secretary apologised to the PRO. The PRO then informed the meeting that he had spent the year getting to know the job, deciding what should be done and then setting about doing it. He had built up contacts with most of the relevant major publishers and several articles had appeared during the year in both the Irish Runner and the Marathon Magazine. Results had been printed in the national newspapers. He went on to say that the foundations had been laid and that whoever was doing the job next year should try and build on what had been achieved this year.

9. Election of Officers.

Hon. President: The current President was no longer eligible for re-election, so the position was vacant. It was opened to the floor for nominations.

Mr. Eric Brady was nominated by Prof. Michael Hillery and seconded by Mr. Brian O’Donoghue. No other nominations were received and Mr. Eric Brady was deemed elected.

Professor Cyril Smyth automatically becomes the Immediate Past President.

Vice President: At this point Prof. Cyril White informed the floor that he was stepping down to make way for young blood. Prof. Micheal Hillery states that Prof. Cyril White has been involved since the beginning and should remain on. Prof. Cyril Smyth then inquires if Ms. Siobhan O’Keeffe would be interested in the position. After a short discussion Ms. Siobhan O’Keeffe was nominated by Prof. Cyril Smyth and seconded by Prof. Cyril White. Mr. Keir McNamara was nominated by Ms. Sylvia Lennon and seconded by Mr. Eric Brady.

No other nominations were received and Ms. Siobhan O’Keeffe and Mr. Keir McNamara were deemed elected to the two Vice President positions.

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

Mr. Stephen Lipson was nominated by Professor Michael Hillery and seconded by Dr. Iain Morrison. No other nominations were received and Mr. Stephen Lipson was deemed re-elected for one additional year.

Hon. Treasurer: Mr. David Maley was nominated by Mr. Noel Pollock and seconded by Ms. Catherine Carroll. No other nominations were received and Mr. David Maley was deemed re-elected.

Hon. Competitions Secretary: Dr. Iain Morrison was nominated by Mr. Paul Campbell and seconded by Ms. Muriel Cummins. No other nominations were received and Dr. Iain Morrison was deemed elected.

Hon. PRO: Mr. Ian O’Sullivan was nominated by Mr. Patrick Maloney and seconded by Ms. Siobhan O’Keefe. No other nominations were received and Mr. Ian O’Sullivan was deemed re-elected.

Committee Member: Prof. Michael Hillery was nominated by Prof. Cyril Smyth and seconded by Prof. Cyril White. Prof. Cyril White was nominated by Prof. Cyril Smyth and seconded by Prof. Michael Hillery. Mr. Noel Pollock was nominated by Prof. Cyril Smyth and seconded by Mr. David Maley. Ms. Catherine Carroll was nominated by Mr. Ian O’Sullivan and seconded by Ms. Siobhan O’Keeffe.

No other nominations were received and the above four nominees were deemed elected.

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

10. Motions.

It was decided that seeing that the affiliation of new Associate Members had been left off the agenda that this was as good a place as any to discuss the applications. The President read out the names of the institutions who had applied for Associate Membership. The secretary then proposed that they be allowed to join. This was seconded by the PRO and then passed unanimously by the floor.

The new Associate Members were:

Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology.

Dundalk Institute of Technology.

Limerick Institute of Technology.

Portobello College.

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

The President then proceeded by apologising for the late arrival of the motions, then proceeded to outline who was eligible to vote i.e. the nine Members and the executive, but asked the Associate Members to give their views. The President then gave a very brief outline of the history of the IUAA and asked the floor where does the organisation want to go? He then invited everyone from the floor to partake in the discussions that were to follow.

The President explained that the current constitution needed reordering so as to clearly define it into two distinct parts. The motion being proposed only involves reordering, there are no word changes involved. The main changes involved are as follows:

It involves moving sections previously numbered under Section 7 of that document. Clauses 7.2 to 7.2.3 from Rules of Championships are moved to after Section 6 "Subscriptions and Levies". These eligibility rules remain the same as in the 1998 version enacted in October 1996 and are inserted as sections 6.3 to 6.7. If this changed is enacted then these clauses should perhaps be labelled section 7 "STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FOR IUAA CHAMPIONSHIPS" and subsequent sections renumbered under "Rules of championships".

Clauses 7.3.2 and 7.3.3 that deal with medals and trophies have been inserted as clauses 6.7 and 6.7.1 of the revised document. These might appear as a separate section (MEDALS AND TROPHIES) in the revised Constitution that would be numbered Section 8. They have merely been inserted as shown to indicate that they have been removed from Rules of Championships to the constitutional part of the document.

None of these changes affect the content of the current constitutional document, only its sectionalisation.

The President then proposed the motion. This was seconded by the Secretary and then passed unanimously by the floor.

The President outlines why the membership should be made pay its affiliation fee. The immediate past president outlines the changes to motion 2 agreed by the IUAA executive earlier that morning:

This amendment was proposed by the Immediate past president and seconded by the President. The treasurer then stated that he felt that a two years membership fee in arrears was excessive. The President explained that the membership must pay their membership fee annually and couldn’t be paying it every second year just because they had a few athletes who wanted to compete. He used NUI-Maynooth and DCU as an example of two members who had stayed loyal despite small numbers and large fees. The competitions secretary pointed out that the only form of funding for the IUAA was from subscriptions. The treasurer stated that he felt that 80% of the membership would pay up annually and hence there was no need for a two year penalty clause. Dr. Iain Morrison inquired if the smaller institutions actually had Athletics Clubs. Mr. John Stacey wondered if clubs would have enough money to pay a two year penalty. Ms. Jacqueline Mulhall stated that there was no way that her club could afford to pay a two years subscription in arrears in addition to the current years fee. Dr. Iain Morrison stated that he felt clubs should be allowed compete even if they weren’t members. This notion was firmly thrown out by the Vice President, the Immediate Past President, the Competitions Secretary and the Secretary. It was agreed to amend motion 2 to include a penalty clause of the current years subscription plus one years arrears at the current rates for institutions whose membership had lapsed for one or more years. The immediate past president withdrew the previous amendment.

The treasurer then proposed the above amendment. The President seconded this amendment, which was then passed unanimously.

Part 1: Amendment to Clause 4.5 dealing with amendments to the Constitution and Rules of Championships to read:

The President explained that as a result of passing motion 1, Clause 4.5 required rewording. The floor agreed.

Part 2: Insert 4.5.1. to read:

The President explained that this change was to ensure that the rule conforms to the practice, but that special resolutions could still come to an AGM. It was proposed by the President and seconded by Mr. Keir McNamara and passed unanimously.

Part 3: Insert 4.5.2. to read:

The President explained that this change was to ensure that the rule conforms to the practice. It was proposed by the President and seconded by Dr. Iain Morrison and passed unanimously.

Clause 7.5 be amended by an addition which shall read:

The President withdrew this motion as the executive had agreed this morning that its content was already covered within the existing constitution.

Clause 3.1 be revised to state:

If Motion 5 (above) is carried, Clause 3.1.1 be amended to read :

and that clause 3.1.2. that is concerned with the definition of Associate Members be accordingly deleted.

The President explains to the meeting that motions 5 & 6 were received from University College Cork prior to last years AGM but had been disallowed by the executive on the basis that it had been agreed that the constitution could only be altered every three years.

The President then went on to say that the executive had discussed motion 5 in conjunction with motion 7 & 8 in great detail earlier that morning and the executive felt that if motion 5 was passed then motions 7 & 8 must also be passed. The President went on to outline motions 7 & 8.

Clause 5.2 to read:

The Treasurer and the President both went on to clarify that if the Associate Members wanted the vote then they would have to take on the responsibilities of full membership.

At this point Mr. Brian O’Donoghue asked if Mr. James Nolan could be made eligible to compete. This was dismissed as completely irrelevant to what was being discussed by the PRO, the Secretary and the President.

The PRO then stated that 3^rd level athletics was a growing sport and that if it was to continue growing then everyone would have to be united. The Vice President reminded the meeting not to forget about the issue of responsibility and that the IUAA should expand in a controlled way. The treasurer then pointed out that there wasn’t exactly too many Associate Members present to express their views. The President then stated again that motion 5 should be linked to motion 7 & 8. The immediate past president then suggested that clause 4.7 (requiring a quorum) be deleted as it would be nearly impossible to get 2/3s of the members present at the AGM. The competition secretary again asked the Associate Members present for their views. Mr. Paul Campbell stated that DIT had in fact already hosted an Intervarsity Championship and were prepared to accept the responsibilities of full membership.

The President then put it to the floor that motion 5 (and hence motion 6) be combined with motion 7 & 8 along with the deletion of clause 4.7. This was proposed by the immediate past president and seconded by the secretary and passed unanimously. With this the President congratulates everyone, saying that this was an Historic day for the IUAA.

MOTION 9:

Subscriptions

It was agreed to put off setting the membership fee until Maynooth. The treasurer suggested some preliminary figures of £250, £325 & £420.

11. Championship Dates.

The 13^th November1999 had already been chosen by NUI-Maynooth for the Road Relays as this was the only date on which they could get the course and the dining hall.

It had been agreed in Maynooth last year to book the 3^rd/4^th December 1999 for the Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The 26^th February 2000 had been chosen by the executive for the Cross Country Championships, as it was the only date that didn’t clash with a BLE cross country race. They were to be hosted by Cork Institute of Technology.

The 14^th/15^th April 2000 had been chosen by the executive for the Track and Field Championships, so as to avoid a clash with BUSA and Easter. The President explained this to the meeting. They were to be hosted by the University of Limerick.

12. Championship Hosts, 2003 and beyond.

The President explained that the current lists of hosts for both the Cross Country and the Outdoor Track & Field Championships were due to expire in 2003 and that they would have to be updated at next years AGM.

13. A.O.B.

The President informed the meeting that he had been presented with what was possibly the oldest athletics trophy in Ireland the previous Tuesday and proposed that it be used for the Celtic International Cross Country Championships. This was seconded by the vice president and passed unanimously. The President pointed out that the trophy would be stored in a vault in Trinity at all times as it was too valuable to be kept by the winners.

The Secretary then clarified that the £5 charge for Maynooth was in fact for the meal and not an entry fee as stated on the entry form. The immediate past president then congratulated Mr. Eric Brady and Ms. Mary Clark on their recent marriage. The President then mentioned the death of Dr. Tony O’Neill, who had died several week earlier.

With no further items to be discussed the President thanked all the delegates 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 16.45hrs.

Proposed by…………………………………

Seconded by…………………………………

…………………………………

Eric Brady.

Hon. President IUAA

Date………………….

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