Archive for October, 2011

Swimming Working Group

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

By David

A battle has been fought and won. Project Vanguard is dead. Swimming New Zealand spent quarter of a million dollars pushing a Head Office grab for power and they lost. Swimwatch and the Coalition of Regions said, “No, not under any circumstances.”

Today, it’s almost impossible to find Project Vanguard mentioned on the Swimming New Zealand website. Imagine that: two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and nothing to show. The grass roots of swimming refused to hand over ownership of the sport to the Coulter gang. The never honoured votes for approval to proceed, Coulter’s slick marketing talk and the offer of swimming Shangri-la faded and finally died on the scrap heap of numerous other costly follies.

Or did it? Has Project Vanguard gone away? Is Swimming New Zealand’s grab for power dead? Has Swimming New Zealand found a better way of achieving the same thing? And has Swimming New Zealand found new and powerful allies prepared to push and pay to get it done? I think that’s exactly what’s happening.

Swimwatch warned the Coalition of Regions that the offer of mediation was a con. We were concerned that in the mediation process unreasonable people would take advantage of good regional people and con them blind. Swimwatch is convinced that this working party is about to introduce Project Vanguard again, through a different door; dressed in a new name. An unholy alliance will see the end of swimming’s regional structure and the imposition of power from Wellington. Federalism will be replaced by central unitary power. SPARC will look after its own.

Swimwatch will fight on, determined to see swimming preserve a federal regional structure; determined to ensure a decentralized network of coaches are charged with the responsibility of delivering championship swimmers. But it should never have come to this. The Coalition of Regions was winning. They had the votes. They had the AGM remits. The bad guys were on the ropes. The hard work had been done. One last AGM punch and it was all over. But the Coalition was not up to the task. They had to be reasonable. They told us:

“better progress could be made through engagement.”

They let us down and now we will have to begin the fight all over again.

There are aspects of the so called management of sport in New Zealand that really beat the hell out of me. Take Peter Miskimmin for example. He’s the CEO of SPARC, the organization the government established to fund sport in New Zealand. He has an important job. Everyone treats him like sporting royalty; lots of kissing and hugging but no real affection. Byrne’s only interest in Miskimmin is to make sure the next government welfare check is as big as possible. The way some organizations, including swimming, prostrate themselves at Miskimmin’s feet is positively embarrassing.

I’ve been to two meetings where Miskimmin was specifically asked why he didn’t get involved in sorting out swimming’s management problems. On both occasions Miskimmin was very clear – the governance of a sport is a subject for the members to decide. SPARC and its CEO have no place interfering in swimming’s management structure. I was impressed. Miskimmin knew the limits of his authority and was not afraid to make his position public.

Now I think the bugger couldn’t lie straight in bed. Five minutes after his convincing expression of independence, he appoints himself to a Steering Committee charged with directing an overhaul of swimming. He says he wants the committee working for him to tell him about:

  • Governance factors such as existing constitutions board policies, strategic planning, board membership and linkages to organisational performance
  • Organisational structure performance management including the link between roles, resources and strategy
  • Relationships between constituent sections of SNZ and related parties providing aquatic products, services or facilities
  • The membership model and its relationship to governance and to a revised operating model
  • Comparable processes in other sports.

That sounds pretty much like getting involved in the management of swimming to me. It is a real problem. You can’t believe a thing the leaders of our industry say. Miskimmin says one thing and thinks nothing of doing the opposite. The evidence seems to suggest he’s just a lying prick.

Moving on from the squalid political side of swimming, I said I would let you know how our guys got on in the Auckland Level One meet this weekend.

Well, Rhi swam 57.17 and 2.04.67 for the 100 and 200 metres freestyle. The 57.17 was inside the qualifying time for the US Olympic Trials. So Rhi will be appearing on that portion of the Olympic stage again. I was pleased with the 200 metre swim. She swam the last 50 metres in 30.17 which shows some of the huge ability she had to finish races well is on its way back. After three years off and in only nine months back Rhi Jeffrey is in a very good swimming space. Well done Rhi.

Jessica improved her best 800 meters freestyle from 9.13.08 to 8.58.89 (2.6%). That improves her 2011 New Zealand ranking from 12th to 6th. Her swim this weekend was always intended as a trial for her swims next week in the Singapore and Beijing World Cup meets. This good trial indicates she will swim her 800 and 400 meters much faster in Asia. Good luck in the big time, Jessica.

Justin swam great. He has not had the easiest of years; with all the Court action required to secure approval to be in the pool at all. This week he passed the required number of credits to graduate from High School and won the 50 (26.11) and 100 (57.38) metres butterfly, both in personal best times. He is a fine young man. His 2011 open New Zealand ranking in the 100 improved from 30th to 14th and in the 50 from 28th to 19th.

Jane won the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Her times were not quite as fast as her personal bests. She has huge potential though and after another build up (Jane hates the thought of that distance conditioning) she will be going much faster. She is a great competitor and looked easily in control of these events.

And finally we have Nikki Johns. She won the 50 metres backstroke in a modest time, for her, of 32.90. However when I explain that on Wednesday she had her wisdom teeth removed and swam with her face still puffed up like a World Cup football, perhaps you will appreciate the character required to complete that swim. I think that’s about the seventh time she has had a general anaesthetic procedure in the past six months. Yup, 32.90 sounds pretty good to me.

Some of the other West Auckland swimmers also performed well. Lara went under 30 seconds for the 50 freestyle for the first time and improved her 100 freestyle best time by two seconds. After a week spent tramping in the Ruahine Ranges, sleeping in DOC huts with what she describes as rain beating on the roof, wind howling through the trees and a single candle for light, her two personal best swims were a pretty good result. And Billy, Abigail and Israel all recorded personal best times.

So that’s the good and bad side of swimming this week. Swimming New Zealand’s Annual General Meeting is being held today. I’ll see if I can find out what’s going on and report on Swimwatch next week.

Posted in Racing | 6 Comments »

Never Go Public Before An Event

Monday, October 24th, 2011

The Barcelona Olympic Games were held in 1992. For me, they were not a happy occasion.   Before the event Toni Jeffs and I stayed in Canet, in France, where the British and Canadian teams were also quartered. It was quiet, peaceful and with everything we needed — good air-conditioned accommodation, a 50-metre pool, a gymnasium, medical attention — only a relatively short distance from the Olympic pool. Toni swam in the Olympic pool three times before the New Zealand team even arrived in Barcelona and found then that the Olympic village accommodation was not air-conditioned and the food, in the way of mass-produced meals, was bland. We decided it would be better to stay in Canet, if Swimming New Zealand agreed.

The team’s chef de mission agreed. The swimming management agreed in a rather reluctant and offhand manner. So we returned to Canet and I was staggered when, the following day, I was contacted from New Zealand and told that Swimming New Zealand management had stated, on television, that we had walked out of the village without approval; disciplinary action would follow when we returned to New Zealand.

The media turned up on our doorstep chasing a story that was, at best, a figment of Swimming New Zealand’s imagination and, at worst, deliberately misleading.

When we got back to New Zealand, we were told a formal inquiry would be held during the New Zealand winter championships. We pre-empted this by formally complaining to the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games’ Athletes’ Commission. It investigated and found in our favour – Swimming New Zealand officials had approved our request and their subsequent actions were personally damaging.

A meeting was held at the NZOCGA offices and it was agreed that Swimming New Zealand had handled the episode badly; if we agreed to accept their apology, the matter would end with no further public comment. We agreed, which, on reflection, was stupid. I have lived ever since with the public perception that I had not allowed Toni to stay in the Olympic village. It was a public relations win for Swimming New Zealand.

The pathetic politics of Swimming New Zealand clouded but did not totally spoil my wonder at the triumphs of Barcelona.  They made my problems trivial and demeaning; an Olympic Games should be attended with confidence, dignity and respect and I was unable to do this. It will not happen again.

A few months later I discussed the whole Barcelona fiasco with New Zealand running great Dick Quax. His comment was one I have never forgotten. “David,” he said, “before a major event avoid all publicity.” Quax’s point was that because there is no sport to report, the press are on the prowl for any crumb of gossip. Trivial issues are magnified by sport’s journo hacks desperate to justify their Olympic expenses. Journalists hunting for news are not noted for their class. Just look at the way Terry Serepisos has had his character assassinated by that pom on Radio Sport between noon and 3.00pm. The same guy rips into athletes who change their sporting nationality. I have a wife who ran for New Zealand and the United Kingdom and a daughter who swam for New Zealand and the US Virgin Islands. Come to think of it, I’ve coached athletes who have represented four or five different countries. None of us have the low life carpet bagger motives attributed to us by the boorish oaf on Radio Sport.

On the subject of Radio Sport – the way their journalists encourage the vilification of the Australian footballer, Quade Cooper, is also a disgrace. Journalists in glass houses should not throw stones. Quade Cooper’s charge was that, in the heat of a rugby international, he kneed the New Zealand captain in the back. Accusing anyone of kicking people in the back is a subject Radio Sport journalists would do well to avoid. At least Cooper was found not guilty.

And so, completely ignoring the good advice of Dick Quax, I want to tell you about a swimming event that is still a week away. You won’t find this event on FINA’s calendar of important international occasions. Even Swimming New Zealand will be far too busy to notice this modest event. But in a week there is an Auckland Level One meet which is very important to the best swimmers on our little team.

Rhi is competing in the 100 and 200 meters freestyle. Sometime soon she has to swim the qualifying times for the US Olympic Trials – 57.19 for the 100 and 2.03.19 for the 200. This event will test how close she is to those targets. The Trials will be held on June 25 – July 2 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Jessica will swim in the 800 meters freestyle. After her good 1500 meter swim of 17.09.86 a few weeks ago, it will be interesting to see how she performs. I see she is ranked first. The swim will be an important trial. Three days later she heads off to Singapore and Beijing to swim in those stops in this year’s World Cup program.

Jane is ranked first in the 50 and 200 meters breaststroke. Over the past few weeks Jane’s training has improved. It will be interesting to see if she can improve on her best times of 2.41.35 and 34.68. I have been fortunate enough to coach two international breaststroke swimmers; Jane Copland and Missy McIntyre. Jane Ip could well become a third.

Justin is ranked first in the 50 and 100 meters butterfly. Like Jane, his training has been progressing well. His easy stroke reminds me of Ossie Quevedo, another butterfly swimmer I coached. Ossie holds the FINA world record for master’s 50 fly in the 30-34 age group. It will be a great day when Justin matches Ossie’s butterfly feats.

Nikki is ranked first in the 50 backstroke. This will be her first individual swim back after the horrendous health problems she has experienced in 2011. I have no expectations for her this weekend. I am happy that she is well enough to compete. Whatever her result it will be an achievement and good enough for all of us.

There is a political aspect to all this. Every time Club swimmers take on the coterie of privilege from the Millennium Institute there is a political point to be made – private enterprise can do it better. Every time a swimmer from United or Roskill or West Auckland Aquatics beats one of the products of the socialist delivery of sport from the Millennium Institute, swimming in New Zealand improves. The point has to be made; the lesson has to be taught – you do not need to be on swimming welfare to be a world class athlete. In fact it’s better if you are not. And so, Godspeed Nikki, Jessica, Rhi, Jane and Justin – the cause you represent is good and important to swimming in this country.

Swimwatch will let you know how they fare.

 

Posted in Racing | 6 Comments »

A Deliberate Lie is Evidence of Guilt

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

By David

I am sitting at my computer in awe. What the hell is going on? Can any of this possibly be true? Swimwatch may have a reputation for trouble making. But what should happen when there is evidence of blatant dishonesty? Should we all just ignore the shortcomings of our leaders? Because someone is called a CEO or a Chairman or a coalition leader, are they above reproach; or beyond question.

Clearly we don’t think so. When those who lead us behave badly they should be held to account no matter what the cost. For years the membership of Swimming New Zealand ignored gross bad behaviour by the leaders of the sport. Is the current shambles in swimming the result of those who behaved badly or the fault of those who failed to call the guilty to account? Both are responsible. Those who ignore bad behaviour are just as culpable as those who take part in dishonest acts.

For this reason I am not going to ignore a Sunday Star Times report. The article by Simon Plumb concludes with the following explanation.

In an email to the Sunday Star Times on Friday, Byrne acknowledged the situation was “ambiguous”. “We think that this clause of our constitution is a bit ambiguous and can be interpreted multiple ways,” Byrne wrote. “We have determined that the interpretation that we will apply is that our appointed directors may be elected for multiple terms of two years. Our regions have agreed they will not challenge this interpretation.”

There are two things that are desperately important to the future of the sport in Byrne’s email. First, there is no ambiguity in the wording of Clause 10 of the Swimming New Zealand Constitution. It cannot be interpreted in “multiple ways”. This is what Clause 10 says. “The board shall comprise of: (a) Six elected Directors. (b) The elected Directors may appoint up to two appointed Directors on the basis of specific knowledge or skills, for a term no longer than two years. Upon expiry of that term the Board if it thinks fit may reappoint such Directors for a further term.”

Mike Byrne knows that the framers of the Constitution wrote this clause specifically to avoid the long term appointment of an unelected Director. The wording is clear. It says “upon expiry of that term” – that’s the first term only – then the Board can appoint the Director for a further term. There is nothing ambiguous about that. The clause is clearly there to limit unelected Directors to a two term period. Byrne’s first responsibility is to protect the interests of Swimming New Zealand’s membership by upholding the terms of the Constitution. His email demonstrates he has little interest in either responsibility. But, I guess we all knew that months ago.

However, worse than all that is the last sentence in his email; the one that says, “Our regions have agreed they will not challenge this interpretation.” My first thought when I read that sentence was that Byrne had just told us another bald faced lie. There is no way the regions would agree to set aside the Constitution in order to curry favour with Ross Butler. That would have required the approval of an Annual General Meeting. I even went back through all the AGM minutes looking for a remit that approved the never ending renewal of an appointed Director’s term in office. Of course I did not find anything.

Clearly, I thought, this was all another Swimming New Zealand lie. Byrne has just made it up to convince the Sunday Star Times that the Regions approved Butler’s reappointment. But somehow I was finding it hard to convince myself that even Mike Byrne would lie to a national newspaper in writing. That was a stretch even for the likes of Mike Byrne. Was there another explanation?

And then it dawned on me. The Coalition of Regions had gone down to Wellington to do a deal with Butler and SPARC. As part of that deal Butler and SPARC had got the Coalition of Regions to agree to roll over the appointment of Ross Butler for yet another term. It was the only way to explain Mike Byrne’s email. The people we sent to Wellington to represent us had agreed to set aside our Constitution in order to give Butler two more years in power. We had been deceived.

Swanson and Radford are no better than the charlatans that have led the sport of swimming for the past ten years. They did not have our permission to set aside the Constitution. They have sold every swimmer in this nation short. Their own son and daughter deserve better. Swanson and Radford have forfeited the right to lead. Some things are not negotiable. Some things cannot be agree to. One of those things is the inviolability of the Constitution; the sanctity of the rule of law. Swanson and Radford appear to have done a deal that shines a light into their souls. If they did this deal; it is corrupt. They are corrupt. Good things will never accrue from dishonesty. The ends do not justify the means.

When it suits Swanson and Radford what or who else will they sell short. How many pieces of silver will it take to swing the next deal? What is the next expediency they will call on to justify their corrupt deals? Desperately, sadly those we trusted to act with integrity have betrayed that trust. Tomorrow morning I have to go to a pool and instruct a dozen good people to swim 10,000 meters. They will do it because they trust me and they trust those responsible for this sport to handle their affairs honestly and reliably. That motive is at the heart of the Swimwatch campagne to reform the management of Swimming New Zealand. If Swanson and Radford did the deal I think they have done, they are no better than the crew we asked them to replace. Bad deals are done by bad people.

 

Posted in New Zealand | 5 Comments »

Have We Lost Control Of Our Sport

Friday, October 14th, 2011

By David

Last week Northern Swimmer sent Swimwatch a comment on the story titled “The Board Reappoints Butler.” The points made by Northern Swimmer are so important; so far reaching in their consequence, we have copied the comment below.

Have we lost all control of our sport? We have one Independent Board Member submitting a remit to re-appointment the other Independent Board Member.

Looking at the Legal and Governance page on SNZ it says that there are two Independents and five [elected] Board Members. The absence of his name shows that Mr Coulter has gone, however from what I have heard Mr. Toomey has been permanently based in London since August; I presume he no longer takes part in the Board meetings. However what that page does not mention, but what can be found if you look at the Board Meeting Minutes is that along with the Board Members also in attendance were:

Mike Byrne SNZ CEO

Nelson Cull Board Advisor

Kerry McDonald Board Advisor

(Martyn Newman-Hall (minute taker))

http://www.swimmingnz.org.nz/uploads/files/Minutes_of_Board_Meeting_20110924.pdf

Effectively you have four elected Board members, two independent board members, two ‘independent’ board advisors, and the CEO. (I am assuming the minute taker breathes through his nose). While only Board Members have voting rights, you effectively have ‘independent’ and SNZ voices out-numbering the elected members 5 – 4. I can only guess as to who is controlling the content of the meetings. Have we lost all control of our sport?

Northern Swimmer is right. Participation on the Board of Swimming New Zealand is five “appointed” participants and four “elected” members. Here are their names.

Appointed Participants

Ross Butler, Acting Chairman

Jane Wrightson, Independently Appointed Director

Mike Byrne, SNZ CEO

Nelson Cull, Board Advisor

Kerry McDonald, Board Advisor

 

Elected Participants

Mark Berge

Ron Clark

Alison Fitch

Humphrey Pullon

I have omitted Dominic Toomey because, as Northern Swimmer says, Toomey has been in London for the past few months and can hardly be counted as an active participant in the affairs of Swimming New Zealand. And so, given these two teams – who do you think is running the show? Who do you think is scoring the most points? A cozy Wellington clique is up to its eye balls in running the sport of swimming. It is undemocratic. It is unconstitutional and it is reality. Appointed participants, controlled by SPARC and Miskimmin have absolute control of what goes on in every Swimming New Zealand Board Meeting. The sport is a shambles and Miskimmin and SPARC are responsible.

But it is not only the Board that has an undemocratic bias. It is not only on the Board that the membership of Swimming New Zealand has lost control of the sport. Just look at the membership of the Steering Committee set up to direct the current review of Swimming New Zealand.

Peter Miskimmin SPARC Appointee

Bill Birnie, SPARC Appointee

Ross Butler, SNZ Appointee

Jim Swanson, Elected Representative

It is worthwhile repeating. And so, given those two teams – who do you think is running the show? Who do you think is scoring the most points? A cozy Wellington clique is up to its eye balls in running the sport of swimming. It is undemocratic. It is unconstitutional and it is reality. Appointed participants, controlled by SPARC and Miskimmin have absolute control of what goes on in every Swimming New Zealand Board Meeting. The sport is a shambles and Miskimmin and SPARC are responsible.

But not only Miskimmin and SPARC are responsible. Sure they have invaded the sport of swimming and have appointed puppets to exercise power on their behalf. But they did not conduct their campaign in a vacuum. The Regions capitulated without firing a shot. Bay of Plenty and Auckland talked up a storm. But when the going got tough we were being led by Neville Chamberlains offering “peace for our time”. Does this sound familiar? “My good friends, this is the second time there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now I recommend you go home, and sleep quietly in your beds.”

Here is the way those who offer “peace with honour” in this swimming moment say the same thing these days

“It became evident that better progress could be made through engagement. SPARC will fund and support the review but will not lead or direct it. If we engage fully, openly and in good faith to make this a good process that it will yield a good result for swimming. In this regard we are extremely positive about the opportunities this represents for us as a sport. While there are still significant differences of view, alternative ways of resolving those issues were agreed. We are very hopeful that these will provide better solutions than would be available through adversarial conflict. While there will be no grand and immediate result we believe that the process that has been initiated will bring constructive changes that will benefit generations of swimmers to come. We’re looking beyond our need for immediate gratification and playing for the long term. We are committed to ensuring that the process is open and transparent and that the respective parties deal with each other in spirit of respect and good faith.”

Yup – that sounds like Munich to me. All is well. We too can go home and sleep quietly in our beds. This page of idealistic platitudes can be found on the Auckland Swimming website under the heading, “ASA Board Message for Clubs and Swimmers!” Why that announcement needs an exclamation mark, I have no idea. Here at Swimwatch we take a far more Churchillian view. The evidence is clear. The appeasement accepted by the Coalition of Regions is ceding control of the sport of swimming to SPARC and other unelected bureaucrats at a hundred miles an hour. The sport is being invaded. Just look at the participation membership of the Swimming New Zealand Board and the most recent Steering Committee. Auckland and Bay of Plenty Swimming are fiddling while Rome Byrnes.

Posted in New Zealand | 11 Comments »

The Board Reappoints Butler

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

By David

I see Swimming New Zealand has posted the minutes of their September Board meeting. The following remit moved by Jane Wrightson and seconded by Humphrey Pullon was approved.

That the board reappoint Ross Butler as an appointed director for a further period of 2 years. This appointment is subject to the ratification of the first board meeting held after the AGM.

So, they have done it again. They have reappointed Ross Butler for a fourth term of two years when the Constitution only allows an appointed Director to serve for two terms. The whole lot of them are just bloody cheats. No matter how unpopular we become, Swimwatch will continue to hold this bunch of incompetent crooks accountable for their behaviour. In a junior breaststroke race this Board would have been disqualified a hundred times. The Swimming New Zealand Board has been so badly managed by their Regional owners that the Board believe they have a divine right to power. Well, they don’t. The Constitution is a document they must respect. Swimwatch are happy to court unpopularity in order to hold this Board to account.

Today I have filed a complaint with the Registrar of Incorporated Societies. This is what the complaint says.

My question refers to Swimming New Zealand Incorporated. Clause 10 of the SNZ Constitution says the following:

“The board shall comprise of: (a) Six elected Directors. (b) The elected Directors may appoint up to two appointed Directors on the basis of specific knowledge or skills, for a term no longer than two years. Upon expiry of that term the Board if it thinks fit may reappoint such Directors for a further term.”

The current Acting Chairman is a person called Ross Butler. He is an Appointed Director. He was initially appointed on 3rd November 2005. Within the terms of Clause 10 he was reappointed in 2007. And then outside the terms of Clause 10 he was appointed for a further two year term in 2009. Clause 10 only allows for one reappointment term after the initial period of two years. Finally last month the Board of Swimming New Zealand passed the following resolution approving Ross Butler’s membership of the Board for a fourth two year period.

“That the board reappoint RB as an appointed director for a further period of 2 years. This appointment is subject to the ratification of the first board meeting held after the AGM.”

My concern is that the regular reappointment of Ross Butler is in breach of Clause 10. Ross Butler has now been reappointed for three two year periods. Clause 10 only allows for one additional two year period. Clause 10 is specifically aimed at preventing the very behaviour that Ross Butler and the current Board of Swimming New Zealand are guilty of enacting.

In these circumstances is there any action the Registrar can take to ensure that the Swimming New Zealand Board complies with the terms of its constitution. Alternatively can the Registrar suggest any course of action the membership might take to control a rogue Director who is not being required by the current Board to comply with the constitution.

We will post the Registrar’s reply to our complaint when it is received. It is our hope that Ross Butler can be held accountable for what the Incorporated Society’s Act 1908 calls actions “beyond the scope of the objects of the society as defined in its rules” and is fined the maximum penalty of $2.00 a day for the two years he has flouted Swimming New Zealand’s rules – $2.00 for 730 days, that’s $1,460, sounds good to me.

While I was researching this post I opened Swimming New Zealand’s page on the Companies Office website. Why has Swimming New Zealand failed to file its annual accounts in 2005, 2008 and 2010? The law is clear. Here is what it says –   “Every society shall deliver annually to the Registrar, a statement containing the following particulars: (a) The income and expenditure of the society during the society’s last financial year: (b) The assets and liabilities of the society at the close of the said year: (c) All mortgages, charges, and securities of any description affecting any of the property of the society at the close of the said year.”

In three of the past five years Mike Byrne’s Swimming New Zealand has failed in its statutory duty to provide the Registrar with a set of accounts – five years at $2.00 a day, that’s another $3,650 fine. This is the Board that preached how much more efficient things would be if they ran the Region’s business. They said that under Project Vanguard the sixteen New Zealand regions would all be better off. While Mike Byrne fails to supply the Registrar with a set of the organization’s accounts, his claims of superior management skills are hard to believe. As we have said on Swimwatch many times before – adding to Mike Byrne’s responsibilities is bizarre when all the evidence suggests that Mike Byrne isn’t all that good at what he does now. When he gets the accounts filed with the Registrar he may be ready to do a really important job like booking the Miramar Golf Club for the next Board Meeting.

It is way off the subject of this post but why are all Swimming New Zealand’s Board Meetings these days held at the Miramar Golf Club. What’s wrong with the Swimming New Zealand office building in Petone. Does Butler get car sick on the Hutt Road? Perhaps McDonald is not sure where to find Petone?

Here at Swimwatch we suspect the performance of this Board may be illegal. It is certainly unusual and demands an explanation. Whatever the explanation it clearly is time for Butler to find something else to do.

 

Posted in New Zealand | 1 Comment »

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