Those are two of the recommendations which will be put before a special general meeting of the CGAJ on Thursday 4 December following a specially-convened council meeting last night.At present members of the executive are voted in annually, while, for example, bowls are represented by the men’s and women’s organisations and shooting by fullbore, smallbore and clay target.If the changes to the constitution are ratified, both bowls and shooting will only be represented by one organisation.Last night’s meeting was called to discuss changes to the old CGAJ constitution, following recommendations made by a focus group headed by Derek Ferguson.Among the other proposals were the following.1.
That the objectives of the organising body be expanded considerably to encourage the development of sport and sports people in Jersey with a view to their participation in the Commonwealth Games.2.
That throughout the constitution it is made clear that competitors for the Games are representing Jersey, and not the association.According to the secretary to the association, Alan Cross, this was something that the president of Education, Sport and Culture, Mike Vibert, felt very strongly about.’In the new constitution reference is made to a Jersey team,’ said Cross.3.
Under the terms of the old constitution the 12-strong executive, including five vice-presidents, could only make recommendations.
The proposition now is that the day-to-day running of the Association will be in the hands of the president, the secretary, the treasurer and two vice-presidents.All five will have to be elected after 4 December, if the new constitution is accepted.4.
Another change will be that officials will be elected for a four-year term, not a one-year term which the current constitution stipulates.’So effectively Martin (Hebden, the president) and I will be out of a job,’ said Cross, cheerfully, adding that he hoped both he, and Hebden, would be proposed, again, for the two posts they have held since early spring.’We are looking to have everything settled in early December, although some people might be unhappy with what they call the new regime,’ Cross said, adding that if the constitition is ratified, the next object would be to append to it a new ‘validations’ process, for selection to the Games, plus an appeals procedure.A report on both has been prepared by a focus group headed by Paul du Feu, and Cross said that one of the main recommendations will be that whoever sits on the validation (formerly selection) panel, will not be eligible to sit on the appeals panel as well.
