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Major Changes in the Offing for Irish Athletics | |
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Irish athletics looks set to be catapulted firmly into the 21st century if radical proposals for the sport are adopted at a meeting on December 3. At a specially convened Extraordinary General Meeting, the Athletics Association of Ireland (AAI) will discuss recommendations which would see root and branch changes in the organisation of the sport. The changes follow a detailed analysis of athletics commissioned by the Irish Sports Council several years ago. One of the main recommendations at the time was the appointment of a full time Chief Executive Officer. Following the AAI’s reluctance to implement the advice the ISC stepped in earlier this year and appointed Gary Owens to the post. Owens, from a business background, has been the driving force behind the mooted changes which have been revealed at meetings with County Boards throughout the country over the past weeks.
They felt that the organisation of athletics was disjointed, not having one governing body, and had not developed in the manner of some other sports in recent years. It was also found that there was poor funding and sponsorship coming into the sport. Not surprisingly, frustration levels were high among both athletes and members. Stephen Maguire: In Favour of Changes Perhaps more telling, the strategy team concluded that there was only limited professional input and no evidence of any coaching or development plan. However, all that is now set to change with the creation of a unified governing body and the integration of schools, juvenile and university bodies into the new organisation. A coaching structure in line with international best practice would be put in place and run by paid professionals. Efforts would be made to harness the support of the many thousands who annually take part in mass participation events throughout the length and breadth of the country. The objectives of the new organisation would be to develop into a largely self-funded body as well as the creation of a network of indoor facilities throughout the country. The structure of the body that would run the sport would also be overhauled with an independent Chairman, an elected President and a fulltime paid Chief Executive Officer heading a 10 person board. Representation for Northern Ireland would be assured with an appointee from the NIAF given a place annually. The remainder of the chairs would be filled by the elected Chairmen of the six sub-committees as well as three members co-opted for their individual skills. The most significant sees the CEO take over the day to day running of the sport . He will be assisted by paid professionals appointed as Development Manager, Head of Coaching and High Performance Manager. Underneath this tier there will jobs for between five and 12 Development Officers, five partime coaches, three administration staff and a Financial Accountant. In addition the schools will have a fulltime director and four partime paid coaches. The hope is that Irish athletics should reap the dividend as early as the 2012 Olympics in London.
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At
the behest of the ISC a strategy team was set up last November to implement
the recommendations in the independent report. The team had widespread
consultation with other interested bodies and individuals before reaching
some damning conclusions about the state of the sport in Ireland.