The ITTA AGM took place at 10.30am on Saturday 7th June 2014 at Sport HQ, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. It was attended by 43 delegates including ITTA Board members from the table tennis fraternity representing Clubs throughout Ireland and the four Provincial Branches of Leinster, Ulster, Connacht and Munster.
The AGM started with the Chair noting the very recent passing of Johnny Leach, former World Champion – a very good friend of Life President Joe Veselsky, and a regular visitor in his playing days to Ireland, North and South. It was noted that the Association had sent an expression of sympathy to Table Tennis England.
For the first time, the main Directors’ Reports were posted on the website giving the membership an opportunity to read them in advance of the meeting, and also giving those who could not attend an insight into the activities of the past year.
Reports Summary: A short summary of the highlights was given by the following Directors: Finance Director, Company Secretary with the Board Report, Coaching Director, International Director, High Performance Director, Marketing Director, and Volunteer Development Director. Rhona Daly, Women in Sport Officer, gave a summary of the work carried out in the Participation area . All of these Reports are available online – the shorter presentations allowed more time for questions from the meeting, as well as a shorter meeting – which was appreciated by all present.
Table Tennis Ireland: One of the highlights was the official launch of the Association’s new name and logo (following a soft launch at the Senior National Championships earlier in Limerick). Marketing Director Jamie McConkey spoke about the new brand, and everyone present received a branded mug – he also discussed plans for merchandise in the future.
Affiliation Fees: The membership approved the Board’s recommendation of an increase in Senior Affiliation Fees from €28 to €35 for 2015, with other category increases to be notified in due course. This was the first increase in a number of seasons. Fees were €25 in 2008/9!
Election of Directors: The following Directors were elected to the Board.
Chair: Mrs Pat Hunter
Finance Director: Mr Martin Clark
Marketing Director: Mr Jamie McConkey
Coaching Director: Mr Arthur Brett
Participation Director: no nominations received
Volunteer Development Director: Mrs Pauline McGovern
HR Director: no nominations received
Vice Presidents:
Mrs V Barry, Mr T Martin, Mr T C Phillips MBE, Mr P O’Brien and Mr I Shorten.
Disciplinary committee:
Miss A Kelly, Mr J Campbell, Mr M Herley, Mr C Higgins, Mr A Morgan and Mr A Strong.
Appeals Committee:
Miss K O’Hara, Mr N Hitchcock, Mr P Talini and Mr J Wilson.
Special Resolutions: Four special resolutions were considered by the meeting and approved as follows:
Resolution 1: That Article 7A of the Articles of Association be amended by the insertion of “the Volunteer Development Director” before the word ’and’.
Resolution 2: Approve the substitution of Clause 15.6 of the Regulations of the Association with the following:
· Relevant decisions issued by the Appeals Committee may be referred to Just Sport Ireland for resolution by mediation in accordance with the Just Sport Ireland Mediation Rules. If the dispute remains unresolved at the conclusion of the mediation process, the matter shall be referred to Just Sport Ireland for binding arbitration in accordance with the Just Sport Ireland Arbitration Rules.
· Any appeal to Just Sport Ireland shall be limited to a review by Just Sport Ireland of the legality of the procedures used by the ITTA in reaching its decision.
Resolution 3: The President, Joe Hickey lead the third Resolution, “that the Articles of Association be amended by the substitution of Article 8 in its entirety by the following:
· All Board positions shall be for a period of two years or until the date of the Annual General Meeting in the year in which the two year term expires, whichever period expires sooner. Each person elected to the Board shall be eligible for re-election at an Annual General Meeting provided always that no person may remain in the same Board position, after having served three successive two year terms. A Director of the Company must also be a member of the Company.
· A person elected to the role of President shall hold office for a period of two years or until the date of the Annual General Meeting in the year in which the two year term expires. A person elected to the role of President shall be eligible for re-election at an Annual General Meeting provided always that no President may be re-elected after having served two successive terms.
Resolution 4: “That the Articles of Association be amended by the addition of a new clause at Article 7 D to read as follows:
· “If desired by the Board, an additional director or directors may be appointed with such designation as may be decided so however that any such additional appointment and designation must be approved at the next Annual General Meeting. The limitation on the number of Board Members will be automatically increased on such approval.”
The 2014 Awards were presented during the AGM and a separate Report has been uploaded to the Table Tennis Ireland website advising of the recipients of awards, all of whom thoroughly deserve their recognition.
The Meeting finished at 2.30pm.