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Charm Offensive

By David

In our last post we predicted that the Board of Swimming New Zealand was about to embark on a charm offensive. Their credibility has reached rock bottom. No one believes a word they say. Their behaviour is dishonest and, according to reports we received, probably illegal. They are pushing the sport of swimming in a direction that multiplies their own power. They want swimming to adopt a structure that has failed Surf Life Saving and the New Zealand Girl Guides.

How are they going to respond to all this bad news? How are they going to sell their bid for power? Of course, they are going to revert to type. They will go on a charm offensive and con the membership of Swimming New Zealand as they have many times before. That’s what these people do. They don’t rule by example and with results. This lot have never won a world class swimming race. They rule with spin. They buy votes with a bottle of Chardonnay. We predicted the meeting of Regional Chairs arranged for the 14th August would be their first effort in public relations spin. And we were wrong.

Our Club has a team at the National Short Course Championships in Wellington this weekend. They tell me Swimming New Zealand has a full propaganda offensive at work; shaking hands, presenting medals, kissing babies and whispering, “don’t tell anyone” secrets behind the diving tower. There they are “oozing charm from every pore. They oiled their way around the floor. Every trick that they could play,” they use to strip our caution away. The Coulter gang charm machine has Bill Clinton and Winston Peters agape in awe.

Why on earth is Jan Cameron still presenting medals at that competition? According to Ineson eighty percent of the audience don’t want her there.

There is no substance to the Swimming New Zealand pantomime of course. Time after time they have pulled the same scam. They get what they want and nothing changes. Why? Because there is deep seated duplicity in the organization. Remember when Coulter announced on radio, on television and in the press that Swimming New Zealand accepted the findings of the Ineson Report and would be moving to see them implemented. Well, that was months ago and has anything changed? They formed a committee – that’s true. But that is not change. What have they done about the management shortcomings highlighted in the report? They have done nothing except begin a whispering offensive that Ineson’s was probably wrong – according to Swimming New Zealand the people Ineson spoke to are “unrepresentative”.

That’s not true of course. But more important is the staggering fraud of accepting Ineson’s findings to placate SPARC, then doing nothing in order to preserve their personal power and finally working to undermine Ineson’s methods in order to maintain the status quo. This is the way the Board of Swimming New Zealand operates. It is a classic example of their methods.

Let there be no misunderstanding, Swimming New Zealand will employ the same shameful method to push their Project Vanguard plan. They will wine and dine the Regions. They will distort the truth. They will present a version of Project Vanguard designed to placate Regional concerns and fears. But Project Vanguard will be the same power grab it has always been. My guess is that Swimming New Zealand’s proposal will recommend keeping all the Regions in place but will propose changes to the constitution that will strip the Regions of their power. In order to placate Southland, Swimming New Zealand may have to allow the Regions to raise their own money. But beware whatever the small concessions, whatever the window dressing, Project Vanguard is about a discredited Board grabbing Regional power. That underlying motive will not change. When you listen to the Coulter and Berge sales pitch keep in mind that for ten years this sport has been sold a shoddy product by these two. Ineson said as much. It would be best to avoid buying another used car from this source. Keep in mind the problems Coulter’s plan caused Girl Guides and Surf Life Saving. Tell Coulter to action the Ineson Report and go find somewhere else to play.

While we are on the subject of the Coulter Board, I understand the New Zealand Coach’s Association asked Ross Butler for a seat on his governance committee. The request was declined. Since coming back to New Zealand a year ago, the biggest difference I have noticed between swimming in the USA and New Zealand is the status of the nation’s coaches. The sport in the USA is coach driven. In New Zealand administrators rule the roost. I believe that needs to be addressed. In saying that, I am not blaming New Zealand administrators for their disrespect. New Zealand coaches have got what their performance has deserved. For years they have prostrated themselves at the feet of Jan Cameron. Just as she failed to produce an Olympic or World Champion gold medallist so has every other New Zealand coach. The only difference is that Cameron was paid a fortune and failed. New Zealand’s other coaches were failing for nothing. The status of New Zealand coaches represents a decade of failure and subservience.

That must not continue. It is important the status and standard of coaching in New Zealand is raised and recognized. Administrators have a responsibility in that regard. So do coaches. Ross Butler has no idea of the damage he does when he degrades the status of New Zealand coaches. As I have said I recognize coaches in New Zealand deserve no better – however reform has to begin somewhere. Someone has to be big enough to move the sport forward in a meaningful way. There is no point in expecting that from Ross Butler. Hopefully the administrators who replace him will be more enlightened. Hopefully those responsible for New Zealand’s coaches will act also with the intelligence and vision that improves their respect, status and performance.

But back to Project Vanguard. I’m pretty certain the meeting of Regional Chairs, on the 14th August, will be presented with a Swimming New Zealand Project Vanguard proposal. But beware. Do not give them your name, address and telephone number. Just like all good Nigerian scams this one will empty your bank account, in a heartbeat.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 8th, 2011 at 5:44 pm and is filed under New Zealand . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • Tom

    For regions interested in a preview of how Swimming New Zealand’s Project Vanguard could turn out for them, they need look no further than Surf Lifesaving New Zealand’s remarkably similar Project Groundswell.

    1) Regions were promised Groundswell would lead to improved communication. Quite the opposite, there was a complete lack of communication from the organisation’s leadership. The problem became so pronounced, a number of clubs moved to pass a vote of no confidence in the chairman. This led to him to admit “I recognise that there needs to be better more effective communication between the Board and members and if you find this useful I plan to send an email update following future meetings”.

    2) It was claimed Groundswell would improve efficiency and reduce costs. In reality, as the NZ Herald has reported, “Groundswell was touted to save $1 million a year but planned staff cuts turned into extended numbers; with many additions being at the “fat” end of the salary scale.” Prior to Groundswell there were around 37 staff. This has jumped to 45.

    3) The lack of transparency and accountability brought about by Groundswell led to the organisation making a number of ill-conceived decisions, which have left SLSNZ in a perilous financial state. This included spending hundreds of thousands of dollars (they didn’t have) on activities not related to lifesaving. Again, from the chairman: “The Centennial events including the Exhibition have had a major impact on our finances. We had applied for and expected grants and support but in the end we didn’t receive sufficient . Nevertheless the decision was made to proceed and I am sure you will all agree that we had an amazing celebration”

    4) By ignoring advice and failing to adequately evaluate the organisation’s insurance provision, costs spiralled out of control. From the chairman’s mouth: We are faced with an estimated insurance bill of around $470,000 (2 years ago it was $190,000). The insurance covers all SLSNZ and Club property, liability etc. We need to get some professional advice on how we can reduce our costs without reducing the coverage.”

    5) Since the implementation of Project Groundwell, two CEOs of SLSNZ, along with a number of other key staff, have jumped ship. The previous CEO, himself a board member, was appointed without a robust recruitment process.

    6) The fallout from the disaster that is Project Groundswell has seriously damaged the organisation’s reputation. As a consequence, SLSNZ members sought a special general meeting to hear a vote of no confidence in the board. Before this could happen, the board announced they would resign to allow new elections.

    7) Despite announcing the resignation of the board, the chairman believes the 7) Despite announcing the resignation of the board, the chairman believes the organisation’s issues are not a problem of leadership and the failure of the Groundswell restructure, but due to the “negative energy given by a small number of members”.

    Regions, please keep all this in mind as you are being charmed by Swimming New Zealand. Everything you will be promised in the coming months, the regions of Surf Lifesaving New Zealand were promised. Despite the warnings of (out-voted) northern clubs, Groundswell went ahead. Look where it led. You can still save yourself.

  • David

    Thank you Tom.