Media Release - 4th November 2003

At the Association's Council Meeting held at Highland's College at 8.00 p.m. on Monday 3rd November 2003, a proposition was passed for a Special General Meeting to be held on the 4th December 2003 to adopt a number of significant amendments to the Association's constitution. The recommended changes to the existing constitution were included in a Report presented by Mr. Derek Ferguson, the Chairman of a Focus Group elected by the Council to review the Constitution.

The major changes include:

• an expansion of the Association's objectives and its role in encouraging the development of sport and sports people in Jersey with a clear understanding that those selected for a Commonwealth Games are representing the Island of Jersey.

• A shift of the day to day management of the Association from being the responsibility of the Executive Committee to it being the responsibility of the Officers of the Association i.e. the President, two Vice Presidents, the Hon. Secretary and the Hon. Treasurer.

• A change in the eligibility of local sports bodies to affiliate to the Association with the entitlement, in the amended constitution, for only one body to represent each of the recognised sports within the Commonwealth Games programme. This would mean in effect that the various disciplines/associations within the sports of, for example, bowling and shooting would be represented by one umbrella organisation. This change is in line with the internationally accepted constitution of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Delegates at the Council Meeting also received a final report from the Focus Group responsible for reviewing the Association's Selection and Appeals procedures for selection for a Games. These are linked to issues within the amended constitution and will require delegate's approval at a Council Meeting if and when the new constitution is adopted. The Report identified the need to elect both a Validation Panel and an Appeals Panel and proposed a timetable of target dates for these Panels in the build-up for the next Games in Melbourne in March 2006.

The Council was asked to consider their preferred venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The President, Martin Hebden, gave a resume of the bids as presented by Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and New Delhi, India and, after a brief debate, Council voted to support the bid for Hamilton for the 2010 Games. Alan Cross, the Association's Secretary, will be attending the Commonwealth Games Federation's General Assembly in Jamaica later this month and will cast the Association's vote at the appropriate time on that Agenda.