The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

With all the bickering and disruptions going on in their meetings, members of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) have casted a “vote of no confidence” in the entire executive board, paving the way for fresh new elections one year after the team, led by president Mike Sands, was voted in office.

Sands was conducting the BAAA monthly meeting at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium Wednesday night when immediate past treasurer Laura Charlton made the motion to cast the “vote of no confidence” in the executives. It was seconded by Frank

'Pancho' Rahming (NOT by former interim president Curt Hollingsworth - as previously stated).

The motion was carried that the new elections will take place at the BAAA Annual General Meeting scheduled for November 16. However, president Mike Sands said the elections are now in the hands of the membership, who will ultimately make the final decision on the date of the elections.

The move came after the membership casted a previous “vote of no confidence” in first vice president Iram Lewis, secretary general Carl Oliver and Harrison Petty, president of the Bahamas Parents Association, on May 1. The trio were moved from office but they filed an injunction against the BAAA in the Supreme Court.

The matter was heard in the chambers of justice but was dismissed because it was filed in the wrong court. The trio have since refiled the injunction and are now awaiting for the matter to be heard once again.

Sands said there was just too much bickering between the executives at meetings whenever they were called that they couldn’t continue to proceed in the manner in which they were going.

“The membership felt that they had enough of the disruption in the meetings by some of the executives,” Sands said. “Unknowingly to me, the motion was called from the floor by one member to have a vote of no confidence in the executives. Sitting in the chair, I concurred with the vote and it was agreed that the entire state of officers will be removed from office.”

Sands said he’s aware of the three ousted members’ decision to reapply to the proper court for a further ruling that is still pending.

The BAAA executive team is made up of 20 members and there are 12 council members. According to the BAAA Constitution, elections for the council members are supposed to be held every year, but they are held during the election of the executives.

The last elections were held in November, 2012 when Sands won the presidency over Lewis, who was voted in as the first vice president.

Ever since the elections, there has been some tension among the executives that manifested during the general meetings. That led to the initial “vote of no confidence” in Lewis, Oliver and Petty, who was a long-time major contributor to the BAAA.

Oliver, speaking on behalf of the three ousted members, said they were not surprised in the “vote of no confidence” in the executives. But he said they are still awaiting on a final ruling from the court on their injunction. He said they will wait to see the outcome of the ruling before they make any further comments.

After the first ruling by the court, Lewis, Oliver and Petty had resumed their positions as members of the executive team, sitting in meetings. But the disruptions that escalated between the executives was what led to the members casting the “vote of no confidence” in the entire executive board on Wednesday night.

The BAAA is going through the dilemma when there is less than 200 days to go before the Bahamas plays host to the inaugural IAAF World Relays set for May 24-25 at the new Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

Sands is currently serving as the vice chairman of the organising committee that is headed by long-time field coach Keith Parker. The relays will feature competition in both the men and women 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m and 4x1500m.

The top eight teams in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m will automatically qualify for the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015.

In addition, the top eight teams in each event will be awarded prize money with the gold medallists taking home no less than USD $50,000. In the event that a team breaks a world record in Nassau, an additional bonus of USD $50,000 will also be awarded.