West coast clubs rebel on
Big three Waitakere surf clubs believe low-risk East Coast beaches suck up too much money. reports.
Astoush between disaffected members of three of Auckland’s West Coast lifesaving clubs and their parent body has the potential to damage a “great brand”, says the chairman of Surf Lifesaving Northern Region.
The dispute has the classic elements of an East Coast-West Coast rivalry, though Northern Region management has dismissed it as a small group of disaffected members who are not representative of their clubs.
The chairmen of three of Auckland’s biggest surf lifesaving clubs — Karekare, Piha and United (North Piha) — recently co-signed a letter to SLS Northern Region, the umbrella organisation that administers 17 clubs from Raglan in the south to the Far North club at Ahipara.
They outlined ongoing concerns with the administration, and threatened self-governance or alternative governance if they were not addressed.
The letter, dated April 4, stated that “we the undersigned clubs have repeatedly raised concerns and questions about the governance and health of Surf Lifesaving Northern Region. Without exception these concerns or questions have been unanswered or not dealt with to our satisfaction.”
The letter was written by former Northern Region chairman Steven Pye and signed by Karekare’s John McLarin, listed on the letter as chairman but on the club website as chairman of the sport division, Piha chairwoman Sandra Hosking and United chairman Noel Kay.
SLSNR chief executive Matt Williams and chairman Ian Godfrey acknowledged receipt of the letter but said they had subsequently addressed all the issues raised, some of which came from a place of misunderstanding rather than genuine dissatisfaction with the organisation.
However the Herald has been contacted by a member of the “rebel” group who said several outstanding issues were unresolved around communication and a funding shortfall. When asked to be quoted on the record the veteran surf lifesaver declined.
“You put your name to anything in this organisation that is at odds with the CEO and the board and you get shot down,” the source said. “That’s not okay. The clubs should be running the board, not the other way around.”
Godfrey said it was unfortunate “one or two agitators” were continuing to cause angst when everybody else, including the members at their clubs, had signed off on SLSNR’s plans and funding models.
“It’s a shame. We’ve got a great brand here and this sort of thing can be damaging.”
Godfrey and Williams both stated that the clubs now had access to more funding than they had in the past and it was distributed in a way that was fair and equitable.
The letter initially caused uproar in the surf lifesaving communities when the clubs suggested they would look at the option of breaking from Northern Region’s remit.
“[We will] investigate the options for future governance under our own collective leadership,” the letter stated.
Williams said it was “absolutely incorrect” that the three clubs would explore the possibility of breaking away, despite the explicit mention of it in the correspondence.
“There’s nothing that gives any light or energy to them leaving the organisation,” he said. Letter to SLS Northern Region