SAAL AGM June 21st 7pm

Not long until the AGM. Its going to be tight. Colin who thinks and says he is the SAAL thinks he has this, dont let him.

If you want the Bay Sheffield at Colley over the 2 days, if you want more quality events, more prize money and better value, positivity and get the SAAL back to where it used to be then vote for Kym Steer, myself, Sarah Manning and Gordon Brimble.

If you want more of the same, fewer meets, less prize money, uncertain future, controversy, disrespect, allegations of bullying, spying on athletes, DQ's then vote Colin.

If you are an official I'd ask you to vote for the athletes, vote for what they want not what you want. Its overwhelming what the athletes want and its what Kym Steer will deliver. We respect the officials but this decision needs to be about the athletes which results in the betterment of the SAAL.

Without the athletes the SAAL doesnt exist, we need to bring back fairness, bring back respect and listen to the athletes.

Dont let this be a missed opportunity.

Well its the night before. Best of luck to all the candidates.

It'll go down to the wire, we can only hope the right choice is made tomorrow night and thats for Kym Steer as President.

Its been 4 years of basically the same, the SAAL members surely wont want another 2 more. Members deserve better than this.

We need a committee with fresh ideas, successful business backgrounds, with a willingness to listen to and engage with all the members.

I am confident that our team of new committee nominations if elected will achieve what is expected from them/us.

Its time to go a new direction with better outcomes. Please turn up tomorrow night at 7pm and vote for Kym Steer.

Best of luck T.S. ,
Will be interesting tonight when Colin comes out and says der der der as per the constitution , someone needs to stand down from the committee and we need 3 new ones elected

Z Score wrote:Best of luck T.S. ,
Will be interesting tonight when Colin comes out and says der der der as per the constitution , someone needs to stand down from the committee and we need 3 new ones elected

Thanks Z Score. The latest on the 3 committee up for re-election/nomination is it seems they will put up 3 (essentially) however it appears its only the 2 from this year + Craig Trewartha who apparently is resigning.

There is a problem in doing this, if it is the 3 then Craig needs to resign prior to the commencement of the AGM not after.

I'd assume of he resigns prior he may not be able to vote. If he resigns prior he might not have the room for what I have been told he will be up for Life Member.

If he resigns after the AGM it will leave that position open to be filled by the newly elected committee and may not include those that nominated.

It should be 3 committee members up for re-election/nomination, then after the AGM if Craig resigns his position can be filled by the newly elected committee.

The excuse I have been given is that its the fault of the previous committee. It seems to be a failure by the last 4 years of committee to recognise those positions vacated and filled by the committee are filled for the remainder or the term for which their position is filled. This failure is no excuse for this election, it must be for 3 committee at the commencement of the voting.

So if they have not been going by the constitution over the last 4 years , perhaps the committees elected over this time havent been valid and any decisions made are not valid either.
Constitution is the leagues Bible.you demand its got to be 3 new members on the committee plus president before any voting.
Or everyone goes home, you cant blatantly ignore the constitution.
Its not up to you, to work out how to fix it because you didnt f#@$% it.

Well news travels fast! Well done to the SAAL community. For my Victorian friends flights are 200$ return!!
All the best, Kym! Great appointment

Good result for the saal.
It is going to take more than one summer to repair the damage.
In 4 years we have lost quite a few entire families to the sport.
Lets not forget , Colins not to blame for all of the damage.
At least Colin had a reasonable knowledge about athletics, more than I can say about some others.

The Washup

Well the AGM was certainly an interesting long night. Kym Steer was elected 38 to 36.
It did show Colin did have good support but also shows how divisive things are.
I respect Colin for his willingness to have a go and acknowledge he would have done everything he felt was right, I think at the end of the day it shows he just didnt engage well enough with a greater majority of the members. He took it hard so I think we now need to give the guy a break, thank him irrespective and now move forward in a positive way.

Congratulations to Kym, he and his newly formed committee have alot of work ahead of them. I thought Kym handled the situation as it evolved last night very well under unusual circumstances.
Newly elected committee members are Sarah Manning and Gordon Brimble, with Phil Dawes re-elected. They join Mark Barnett VP, Terrance Carter and Frank McHugh.
Kym is well aware of the items of issue, we hope those elected can work through the issues to the satisfaction of the greater member base.
On Talking Pros I think we now need to wait and see, allow the processed to unfold. I think there is now a great opportunity to vastly improve the SAAL.
From a personal perspective, seems like I was targeted in the speech by Colin without mentioning my name. Now thats his and anyone else opinions of me (which is perfectly fine) and my approach to the problems not just as I saw it but as so many athletes and coaches frustrations were asked of me. My intentions have always been to assist some way to help. Something needs to be done was a constant request.
Now I have mentioned before we had initially good dialog with Colin, it soon ended after coping abuse in an aggressive phone call he made to me. It did not offend me but it became a situation where dialog was no longer useful or listened to, so it was gloves off, keep ignoring the issues and I'll keep raising them.
So like me or loathe me for this thats your interpretation and thats fine too.

Now its time to move forward in a positive way as I mentioned. I'll do what I can to help the SAAL grow in a positive way as best as I can. I hope others that have assisted in attempting to change the ways of the previous committee do the same.

I think you find those newly elected committee members will be far more engaging so give them a go, speak to them directly to get a preferred outcome.

Well wrapped up T.S.
Theres not a lot of members in the league that can lay claim to being an athlete , being a coach, being a handicapper and organising a good meeting.
You have shown you are not afraid to put your hand up and its a pity a few others didnt do the same instead of sitting on them.

Surely you’re joking, right Shane?

I struggle to recall reading a more self-indulgent, hypocritical piece of rubbish in all my life.

You and your faceless goons crucified him, and now you think its ok just to call a ‘cease fire’ of sorts. You were all up in arms about allegations of bullying, but did you ever stop to think that the ridiculous degree of scrutiny you applied to the former president was anything short of bullying as well?

It was obvious last night was a coordinated plot to eliminate the president – and you mustered 38 votes. Well done. So now its time for you to thank Colin and send him off into the sunset?

You would struggle to find anyone in the last twenty years who has given more to the sport than Colin Rowston has. As vice president under Brendan Golden, he oversaw some enormous challenges with the SAAL. When yet more challenging times came again, he was called upon to steer the ship through the troubled waters. But you all just couldn’t resist sticking the dagger in at every opportunity. He put his hand up when no one else would – likely knowing what it might bring in terms of angst and division, but he did it anyway. I doubt anyone could have foreseen the degree of vitriol sent his way though. Nonstop barrages of abuse on this very forum and your seemingly anonymous Facebook group. I hope you feel very proud of yourself Shane, and the rest of your faceless cronies.

I’m glad Colin had the courage to call you out in his speech – he was right to do so given the treatment he had endured at your hands. I hear many in the room last night shared the opinion that you are a means to an end, you served your purpose as a puppet of those who are really in control behind the scenes. Of four candidates for three positions, you missed out. Why? Well, it’s obvious that no one wants you on any committees or in any positions of influence. You were meant to sow the seeds of division and be the voice of those who like to keep the blood from their hands, a tool if you will. Your job is done. No one wants a person who has conducted themselves as poorly as you have around for too long.

So now ‘your guy’ is in the top job its time to take the moral high ground and call off the dogs? How hypocritical of you. Why does Mr Steer deserve any more favourable treatment than Mr Rowston did? Mr Steer disappeared from the sport in the 90s, only to emerge now, where as Mr Rowston has endured some very arduous times in countless years of involvement, never far away – now his children are athletes with the SAAL as well. I hope that remains the case in the years to come, but we will have to wait and see there.

You should all be ashamed of how you treated this man who has asked for nothing, taken nothing, and did his best (rightly or wrongly) for the league and its members.

Shame on you, Shane.

Salty!

You seem to oblivious to fact but dont let that distort your truth. If only you had some clue.

Wow , thats saltier than my fish and chips.
Sherlock , pack your bags and take the door marked EXIT.
You obviously werent at Brighton meetings where Mr Steer was front and centre, presenting sashes and walking around looking after the officials with drinks.Can remember Terry having a joke about his running days and his chances of wiinning these days given his fitness.Yes mate if you missed that , you werent there.
Absolute disgrace in taking a potshot at Kym Steer who is new to the job , new ideas and a new committee.
And was thrust into the job sooner than expected on AGM night.

Hi T.S.
I dont think you will be getting a Christmas card from Sherlock this year.
.

"Steer the Ship" that's an interesting term. Agreed he took over during very trouble times. He was left a mess from the previous committee that walked away. This committee is the one that has no involvement in the sport - This should have been the red flag!

But he was steering a ship that was stuck on a sand bar 


Colin took over - Remember he did say he wouldn't contest if the special AGM was called - It was called
Took a survey on the handicapping system the majority said scrap it - it wasn't
Banned multiply individuals  
Bay Shef deal. 


I have no doubt there are many positives Colin brought to the SAAL and we will see them in the next years to come. But there was so much baggage that needed to be addressed rather than being swept under blanket. That's what the biggest issued was. No one is being transparent or honest. 
Its time to cut the crap and focus on rebuilding relationships and get the SAAL back to where it belongs 

Kym please scrap the handicapping system!

Hi Stevie,
Hope to see you back running in SA.
Youve pretty much summed it up.
Talking Pros could have been flooded with people gloating, but that is not what the result is all about.
We need to find a dummy for Sherlock though , mean while we can all accept the UMPIRES decision from Tues night and move on.

Gossips has been on the phone to me and told me Steer got 51.35 % of the vote , much less than voted against the handicap system which was 58%.
Wonder if Colin is going to accept 51.35 % because 58% wasnt acceptable.
Gossips also told me that he did an audit on those that were there on Tues night and said Colin had the numbers , UNTIL it came to the old secret ballot where a couple  may have crossed the floor, and thats what upsets Sherlock the most.

Just wondering why it's so quiet. No announcement etc..?

StevieBee wrote:Just wondering why it's so quiet. No announcement etc..?

Sit tight Stevie, something will be released soon.

BREAKING NEWS
Happy to report that at the first meeting of the new SAAL committee it was unanimously agreed that the Bay Sheffield would revert to a two day carnival at Colley reserve on the 27th and 28th of December.

More to come !

PRESS RELEASE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ATHLETIC LEAGUE

1st July 2022 Topic – South Australian Athletic League elects new President 

At its recent Annual General Meeting, South Australian Athletic League members voted in favour of Kym Steer as their new president in what was a closely contested election against President of two years, Colin Rowston. 

Mr Steer, a highly credentialed athlete in his own right, takes on the role at a time where members have expressed dissatisfaction with the move of the Bay Sheffield from Colley Reserve to Glenelg Oval. The League’s current handicapping system has also been subject to ongoing pressures. 

Mr Steer, who conducts his own leadership and management consultancy, has significant experience in the corporate world, holds an MBA and, for the last twenty years has been a key driver of the Brighton Bombers move from the Southern Football League to Division A1 in the Adelaide Footy League. 

Mr Steer says “Unity is critically important in a close sport such as ours, into the foreseeable future our management committee will work in bringing our organisation forward. We will do this by listening to all stakeholders and build trust by providing clarity of communication and consistency in our behaviours.” 

One of the first moves of the newly elected committee was to make the crucial decision to return the Bay Sheffield to Colley Reserve, where the race has been held since 1887. Colley Reserve is the spiritual home of South Australia’s most prestigious and iconic professional running event. In the coming weeks, the League will be announcing exciting developments for the 2022 Bay Sheffield’s as it welcomes athletes “Back to the Bay”. 

The new committee also agreed to undertake a review of the existing handicapping system. Mr Steer said, “Handicap running is the basis of our sport, and all athletes need to understand how they are handicapped and on what basis their handicaps are changed.” The review team comprising experts in their fields will report back to the management committee by late August. 
Following his election, Mr Steer praised outgoing President Colin Rowston for his commitment and dedication to the role. He said that Colin’s contribution over many years was outstanding and that the League should be grateful for his service.

Did Steve miss something? Thought all committee position were taken?

StevieBee wrote:Did Steve miss something? Thought all committee position were taken?

Hi Stevie, it appears the result of the AGM is having a bit of a dominos effect with in the saal. Check out team app.

Papa Steve always said if you say you'll do something, you do it.....

To have two committee members resign within days of the AGM and a newly elected President, I would think that those two committee members maybe were on the committee for the wrong reasons.
Incoming president with new ideas , why not give him a go and if you are not happy , then resign.
Very much looks like you want to keep the division among members that the new president wants to get rid of.