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Sun Jun 15, 2008 7:40 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:27 pm
Posts: 105

The bath tub scene from "Fatal Attraction".



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Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:09 am

 

And Anthony is Glenn Close with a difference.



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Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:44 pm

 

Pandora's Box 8 and a half - the WMA actually admitted....

Mmmm. As to WMA "rejected" my complaint - I forgot WMA Stadia Chairman Rex Harvey's grudging and condescending clarification, long after the event, of possible rules infringements during the M65 4x200m relay at Linz:
Quote:
"2. From the facts that we are aware of, the procedures used to conduct the 4x200 Relay at the WMA Indoor Championships in Linz were not in compliance with IAAF rules. "

Are you any the wiser now? No, of course not. Rex Harvey's response was deliberate obfuscation to avoid apportioning blame on the BMAF and WMA officers involved, perhaps including the Linz organisers.

Yet it was still a minor sensation - at last WMA acknowledged that something was wrong with the M65 4x200m relay at Linz. But what did that nonsensical statement hide? What went wrong? Who actually did what? So I tried to obtain further clarification from Rex Harvey:
Quote:
"1. Did the British Team Manager – in entering the competition area and attempting to substitute an athlete who was not on the Final Call Room List – break the IAAF rules and praxis (the only rules and praxis I as an athlete could reasonably be aware of and base my complaint on)?
2. Did the British Team Manager – in entering the competition area and attempting to substitute an athlete who was not on the Final Call Room List – break the "Rules at Linz". Or did he comply with the rules, instructions of officials, etc.?"

As is customary with (BMAF and) WMA, Rex Harvey did what his WMA Secretary the BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas told him and of course again did not respond to that either. The trouble here is that I had posed these questions originally to Percy H. the ultimate boss of the admirable Linz Call Room. Percy H. wrote me that WMA's Rex Harvey would respond instead, but he really hasn't, has he?

And why does the WMA still owe me a serious response? Because BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas explicitly stated that I was in the wrong - that the "rules at Linz" permitted the conduct of his BMAF Team Manager and that it did not amount to cheating. In short that I had no grounds for my complaint about rules infringements by his BMAF Team Manager. And it was that complaint that led to my suspension.

So WMA. Did BMAF Team Manager Maurice Doogan, the prodigy of WMA Secretary and BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas, break any athletics rules and praxis in connection with the 4x200m relay at Linz? Please answer that simple question.

Edited by Anthony Treacher 4 September 2008:

WMA VP-Stadia Rex Harvey on 25 August 2008 finally stated the relevant IAAF rules and I have quoted them in topic "Substitute not on Final Call Room List - what are the rules?"

IAAF Rule 170.17 clearly indicates that British Team Manager Maurice Doogan - by introducing a relay substitute after the Final Call Room Time - rendered the GBR M65 4x200m relay team at Linz liable to disqualification.


Last edited by Anthony Treacher on Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Tue Jul 01, 2008 2:01 pm

 

Pandora's Box 8 and three-quarters - I also forgot

..........that Bob Fine, WMA Laws and Legislation Committee, spontaneously answered "No" to my question as to whether a national team manager could enter the track and attempt to run an athlete who was not on the final Call Room List. Bob Fine then first supported the basic grounds of my complaint against the BMAF Team Manager. With the proviso that his opinion "might of course be incorrect" Bob Fine then passed the question on to WMA Stadia. Whereupon the issue only emerged many months later disguised in that impenetrable WMA Stadia Gobbledygook.

Obviously, we cannot have people running around the track who have not passed through the Call Room. Or maybe WMA plans to dispense with the Call Room altogether?

Bob Fine's instinctive reaction of "No" was of course quite correct . But that was before the WMA swept the matter under the rug to protect the BMAF Team Manager and obviously something else that went wrong at Linz. And Bob Fine later joined the WMA officers insulting me from a safe distance. Wonder if any WMA or IAAF officer now has the guts to give me a definitive intelligent ruling on my Linz "Substitute not on Call Room List" question. Any takers?

-----------------------------
PS for Larry Barnum, who on this thread deliberately passed on a BMAF Committee man's gossip that my "temper" contributed to my suspension.

I notice I rounded off that e-mail enquiry to Bob Fine and Co. as follows:
Quote:
"I would very much appreciate your guidance on the above, with reference to the applicable WMA/IAAF rules, at your earliest convenience. Please contact me if anything was unclear. Thank you for your efforts on behalf of World Masters Athletics.

Yours faithfully,

Anthony Treacher"

Larry Barnum, the above politeness was typical and more characteristic of my dealings with BMAF and WMA than my "temper." So you owe me an apology for the "your temper" bit. And as a forum moderator Larry, you might try to refrain from subjective comments on my character and concentrate instead on the objective facts of my complaint against BMAF Team Manager Maurice Doogan and his protector WMA Secretary and BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas.



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Thu Jul 03, 2008 2:55 pm

 

Pandora's Box 9

Quote:
"Furthermore, you have continued to publicly criticise the seven core BMAF Officers who run British Masters athletics, all of whom are volunteers and competitive athletes. Masters athletics is a non-Government funded or grant aided body and as you are aware, we finished second on the medal table in World championships with 3,336 competitors from 62 countries." (Sic!)

The second sentence - why on earth does BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas write these stupid things? As a BMAF athlete I cringe with embarrassment. The BMAF British flag-waving is pathetic. It is horrible. And I do not for the life of me understand its relevance as grounds for my suspension. Do you?

The first sentence - of course I publicly criticise BMAF Committee members. They let BMAF Team Manager Leader Maurice Doogan go unpunished and allowed me to be suspended for speaking out. And I would also privately criticise BMAF Committee members. if only they had the guts to respond and face me man-to-man.

Pandora's Box 9 has true potential because of the cowardice and deviousness (downright lying in other words) of certain BMAF Committee members in connection with my complaint against the BMAF Team Manager.

A good story but later. This weekend, 5-6 July 2008, I will be competing - M65 100m, 200m, 400m, LJ and TJ - at the BMAF Open National Track & Field Championships at Birmingham. I look forward to the competition and the opportunity to ask certain BMAF Committee individuals to explain themselves. Wish me luck.



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Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:34 am

 

Pandora's Box 9.1

OK, the BMAF committee members and my dirty weekend at Birmingham 5-6 July 2008, what happend? In short, it was a catastrophe. I had cracked a rib falling over two hurdles in the 300m hurdles in the Swedish nationals a week previously (could not get my leg over). At Birmingham I still won the LJ but scratched the 200m and 400m and my cracked rib 100m and TJ results cannot be discussed in polite company.

As to talking to BMAF Committee members at Birmingham, I managed a few but it was a truly unedifying experience. I patted my chum the BMAF Team Manager on the back. I attended the BMAF AGM and managed to shake the unenthusiastic hands (damp sheep comes to mind) of the BMAF Chairman, BMAF Secretary and other BMAF committee members: My main purpose was to check what the BMAF President, Chairman, Secretary and the Committee members actually look like - I was curious as to whether they looked normal.

Birmingham confirmed my worse fears about the BMAF committee. The majority were not even informed about my complaint about the BMAF Team Manager and if they were informed they did not care anyway. The audience at the AGM were not informed or interested either.

There is much I could say about the AGM and in particular my surprise at the way Winston Thomas' cited my case in his Chairman's Report. But instead, in the interests of being forward looking and constructive, I will cite a tidbit from Bridget Cushen's Secretary's Report to the AGM:

Quote:
"The volume of correspondence has been somewhat greater this year as sadly a suspended athlete has complained to UK, Sport, UKA, Sports Councils, several international organisations and affiliates, and to the Information Commissioner's Office making allegations about BMAF and its Executive necessitating a great deal of time consuming research."


Indeed Bridget. And you might consider re-phrasing the actual report to be taken to the minutes as follows:

Quote:
"Sadly, the BMAF problems with this athlete are entirely of our own making. Or should I confess "my own making" because as BMAF Secretary I have handled all aspects of this matter from the very outset. Our BMAF Team Manager at Linz broke the rules concerning the M65 4x200m relay and verbally abused an athlete for refusing to cheat. That athlete did nothing wrong at Linz and indeed defended the IAAF rules. The athlete made a legitimate complaint against the BMAF Team Manager, a complaint which other BMAF officers and I ignored and neglected for a considerable number of months. We considered giving the athlete an apology and then we ignored him and wonder why he is angry. Finally we instead brought trumped up charges against the athlete. We suspended the athlete for his dissent under the dubious ""bringing the sport into disrepute" clause. We did not allow the athlete due hearing and appeal contrary to the guidelines of our national governing body, UK Athletics. We processed the suspension without informing or convening the BMAF Council.

And now this latest complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office. It is entirely typical of our BMAF self-inflicted problems. We posted an insulting notice setting out the athlete's full date of birth in the BMAF Masters Athletics magazine warning that he was ineligible to compete - with only six months of the athlete's suspension to elapse. Now, when we are subject to a complaint, we deliberately and misleadingly informed a British governmental organisation the Information Commissioner's Office that we are the national governing body. And furthermore that it was necessary to set out full date of birth in order to identify this masters athlete (who was then 68 years of old, had an unusual name and lived in Sweden anyway) on the rationale that master athletes do enter younger age category competitions. Thus "forgetting" that we had only suspended the athlete from masters competitions under the auspices of BMAF.

Obviously then, we BMAF officers are not the brightest stars on the athletics firmament. Our volunteer secretariat and administration is also too short-handed to respond promptly and correctly. Our BMAF misfortunes are aggravated because we do not have our own Complaint and Disciplinary Procedures. Had the BMAF been a masters committee within the British national governing body UK Athletics, we would have been able to avail ourselves of the UKA infrastructure, including the UKA complaint and disciplinary procedures. Then all our problems relating to this athlete and my attendant extra workload simply would not have arisen.

So the BMAF must get its house in order. Failing that, if we cannot service our paying athletes correctly, we should bite the bullet and consider applying to join our national governing body as a masters committee within UKA"

That Bridget is what you could have told the 2008 BMAF AGM.

Actually I am very concerned that BMAF has not drawn the obvious lessons from all this. The constructive part here Bridget is that I already worked on a draft Complaint and Disciplinary Procedures for the BMAF a year ago. But I came up against the brickwall of not knowing to whom a BMAF athlete (or officer) could turn to for a hearing or appeal against a BMAF decision, because it certainly is not UKA. In good faith, I volunteer my services again to draft those very necessary BMAF Complaint and Disciplinary Procedures - provided someone from BMAF, UKA, or WMA gives me guidelines as to the hearing and appeal body. Any takers?



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Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:15 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:56 pm
Posts: 105
Location: Houston, Tx

I guess I've lost track of how this situation has developed since it first presented itself many months ago. Maybe I can summarize what my understanding is, and you can correct me where I'm wrong. It might also be helpful for any readers out there who may have tuned in late.

As I remember it there was some sort of rules violation at a meet (I don't think the details are relevant at this point), and you pointed it out to the meet officials, and it ultimately resulted in your being banned from competition. Literally thousands of words of correspondence later, you are now once more able to compete. Is that right? It seems one poster alluded to that.

If this is true, then what is it you are seeking now?...That the person or persons involved in banning you be removed from their positions? Is that about the size of it?



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Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:26 pm

 

Fine, Hadabetter - this is supposed to be a forum. Here are the answers to your questions.

At the 2006 WMA Indoors Linz the British Team Manager Maurice Doogan illegally entered the track with a runner who was not on the GBR M65 4x200m relay final Call Room composition list. The British Team Manager attempted to persuade the GBR relay team to accept that runner. That was cheating and would have resulted in the GBR M65 relay team being disqualified. I and the other members of the team averted that.

No. I did not point it out to the meet officials at the time.

No. Rules violations at Linz did not ultimately result in me being banned from competition.

Fully nine months later - outside the context of any competition - BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas banned me for complaining about his Team Manager and general dissent, citing the "bringing the sport into disrepute" paragraph of UKA rules of competition.

On hindsight, the ultimate cause of my suspension was my 29 December 2006 e-mail reminding about BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas' promised apology to me for the conduct of the British Team Manager. Winston Thomas handled the matter off his own bat. In quick succession in January 2007 he sent me an "apologise to the BMAF within 12 days or we suspend you ultimatum" and then an immediate letter of suspension. Winston Thomas did not offer hearing or appeal and acted independently without informing or convening the BMAF Council as required.

Yes, I am able to compete. The suspension elapsed in January 2008.

What am I seeking? As a British resident of Sweden for the past 45 years I am seeking to maintain my English writing skills and sense of humour by means of this forum. Either that or I am a masochist deliberately courting public abuse and flagellation. No, "Only Yoking" as the Swedes say. I am seeking a public statement from BMAF,WMA, UKA or IAAF that:

1. British Team Manager Maurice Doogan broke the rules at 2006 WMA Indoors Linz.

2. British Team Manager Maurice Doogan - finally - be officially disciplined for his conduct at Linz, citing rules infringements, verbal abuse of a British athlete and unsportsmanlike conduct.

3. Anthony Treacher did not break any rules of competition at 2006 WMA Indoors Linz (as you Hadabetter and others appear to think because Winston Thomas suspended me citing rules of competition)

4. The suspension of Anthony Treacher was unsound and should be erased from the record.

Yes, that the persons involved in banning me be removed from their positions. They are primarily BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas and BMAF Secretary Bridget Cushen. Two BMAF Committee members also failed to do their duty and misinformed the BMAF Chairman - more on that later.

My chum British Team Manager Maurice Doogan - the cause of the Linz incident - should remain in his position. Despite everything, including that he probably misled his Chairman and perjured himself, Maurice Doogan is dedicated and efficient. He is a much more honest and appetising character than the rest of them. (Which on second thoughts may not be saying much.)

That, Hadabetter, is about the size of it. OK? Any more questions?


Last edited by Anthony Treacher on Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:38 am, edited 1 time in total.


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Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:13 am

 

Hadabetter, a question now for you - or any other reader:

In your country, is it possible to suspend a master's athlete for one year without hearing or appeal?



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Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:44 pm

 
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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:16 pm
Posts: 7

I hope you are eligible now so you will stop talking to yourself on these message boards.

:roll:



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Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:57 am

 

Mr. Edmond Warner, Chairman of UK Athletics (UKA), the British national governing body for athletics, in the BMAF Masters Athletics magazine, Summer 2008:

Quote:
"… It may surprise you to know, however, that the subject of masters athletics has only arisen in a couple of UKA board meetings in my time in charge - and then only fleetingly. BMAF may be affiliated to UK Athletics, but it is not directly our charge. Rather, it is a sister organisation with its own governance structure. Like any sibling relationship, we want it to be healthy and to prosper, but we're certainly not going to presume to interfere in its decisions." (my italics)

BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas ignored a serious complaint against his BMAF Team Manager and instead suspended M65 athlete Anthony Treacher in January 2007 without hearing and appeal. That is counter to the UKA's own Welfare Policy:
Quote:
"All athletics agencies will:

    accept the moral and legal responsibility to implement procedures to provide a duty of care for all people (including children) within the sport, safeguard their well-being and protect them from abuse

    respect and promote the rights, wishes and feelings of people taking part in athletics including young people, disabled and/or vulnerable adults

    recruit, train and supervise its employees and volunteers to adopt best practice in all equality issues, to safeguard and protect young people from abuse, and themselves against false allegations

    require staff/volunteers to adopt and abide by the Athletics Welfare Policy and Procedures, Athletics Codes of Conduct and Investigatory, Grievance, Disciplinary and Appeals procedures.

    respond to any allegations appropriately and implement the appropriate disciplinary and appeals procedures."

In the Anthony Treacher suspension case, BMAF did not respond to allegations appropriately and it did not implement the appropriate disciplinary and appeals procedures. As a British athlete I expect UKA - my national governing body - to protect my interests. It cannot be so difficult for UKA to "interfere" in a decision by the BMAF, a UKA-affiliated athletics agency, when that decision contravenes the UKA's own Welfare Policy. With all respect Mr. Warner, you are deliberately shirking your formal responsibility.



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Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:01 am

 

Again referring to Winston Thomas' "Apologise to BMAF within 12 days or I suspend you ultimatum" of 3 January 2007. As the BMAF failed to grant me a hearing before suspending me, this partly corrects the BMAF version of things.

Pandora's Box 10.
Quote:
"and whilst it we felt that you should not have been called a name, your actions then and since have shown that you have scant regard for acting in any way but confrontational."

Confrontational? Winston Thomas conveniently forgets that I approached the British Team Manager afterwards and offered to shake his hand "and forget the whole thing." That is the exact opposite of being confrontational. But British Team Manager Maurice Doogan refused to take my hand. As to being confrontational "then and since" - I have since likewise humbled myself for BMAF and WMA officers (and others), generally only to be similarly ignored, or insulted, or lied to. Truth is I was initially too polite for these people and they took advantage of it.

The witnesses of the Linz incident (and I have spoken again recently with the three other members of our relay team) confirm that I never interfered in the selection of the team and they verify the sequence of events. British Team Manager Maurice Doogan invaded the track, attempted to change the GBR M65 relay team from that formally approved by the Call Room, broke IAAF rules, and argued with and verbally assaulted me, his own British athlete - and then he deliberately refused my well-intentioned offer to resolve the dispute. So if anyone in this matter deserves to be called confrontational it is British Team Manager Maurice Doogan. That comes as no surprise to British masters athletes or even to the BMAF Committee. Not that anyone in the British camp is prepared to do anything about it.

Sadly, no official BMAF document will give you the above impression. You will not even find my unresolved complaint about British Team Manager Maurice Doogan's rules infringements mentioned in the BMAF Chairman's 2007 AGM minutes relating to the matter, which the 2008 BMAF Birmingham AGM approved without a murmur from anyone.



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Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:36 am

 

Is the following - in BMAF athlete Tom Phillips' words - also "spite and recrimination" and "venomous bile against the BMAF?" Or is it objective and based on fact. Judge for yourself:

Pandora's Box 11

Quote:
"When you advised that you were visiting London, I offered to have a face to face meeting with you, Maurice and the Secretary of your club, the Southern Counties VAC. You did not avail of this offer…..

Winston Thomas knows full well that I - not Winston - first made that offer of a meeting in London:

Quote:
"I will be in the London area from the evening of Wednesday, November 29 through the evening of Tuesday, December 5, 2006. If anyone wants a civilized pint with me, please send me your telephone number and we can have a chinwag about something constructive for a change. My mobile number is +46nnnnnnnnnnnn.This offer also extends to my chum Maurice Doogan, who relatively speaking (relative to other BMAF people that is) is getting progressively more attractive by the hour.

All the best,

Anthony Treacher"

Throughout November I waited for a BMAF response but nobody took me up on my offer. But by then I was accustomed to the BMAF ignoring me. Then at the close of my London visit I wandered into an e-mail shop and was surprised to find an e-mail from Winston Thomas. Winston asked me why I had not responded to his previous e-mail and if I would now like to meet in London.

If I had I received Winston's previous e-mail I would of course have responded to it immediately and met them in London. Anyway I politely responded that I - honestly - had not received his previous e-mail and unfortunately it was now too late as I was fully booked up meeting relatives. I also mentioned that instead of meeting the British Team Manager, Winston Thomas and others only to risk "more of the same again" I might have preferred to talk things over in London with just the BMAF Secretary and the chairman of my club SCVAC.

So imagine my surprise when that very chairman of my club SCVAC later informed me at Clermont-Ferrand that Winston had called him and expressly informed him "Anthony does not want to meet you in London."



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Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:10 pm

 

Pandora's Box 12
Quote:
"……instead you have continued to publicly bring the sport into disrepute."

"Bringing the sport into disrepute" in the jargon of BMAF Chairman Winston Thomas and BMAF Secretary Bridget Cushen is simply any criticism, public or otherwise.

So here is yet another example of my "bringing the sport into disrepute." The core issue has been my complaint that BMAF Team Manager Maurice Doogan broke the IAAF rules at 2006 WMA Indoors Linz. But it made no difference to Winston Thomas and Bridget Cushen that I have stated that my complaint against the BMAF Team Manager Maurice Doogan was warranted, valid according to IAAF rules and based on verifiable facts and witnesses, including two BMAF Committee members who were then members of the GBR M65 4x200m relay team.

Winston Thomas simply did not listen, stated that I was in the wrong and suspended me for bringing the sport into disrepute by publicly pursuing my complaint on the internet. (As if I had got anywhere when pursuing my complaint internally with BMAF over the previous nine months).

In attempting to resolve this matter with BMAF officers and British athletes I have been met with massive ignorance of the facts of the Linz incident, the IAAF rules, a stubborn refusal to listen and outright hostility. Even two years later at Ljubljana BMAF Team Manager Maurice Doogan and BMAF Secretary Bridget Cushen continued to insist - and forcefully - that am wrong. Bridget Cushen quoted Winston Thomas: "Rex Harvey said that Maurice did nothing wrong at Linz."

I then quoted "Rex Harvey said that Maurice did nothing wrong at Linz" to WMA VP-Stadia Rex Harvey at Ljubljana. Rex Harvey exclaimed: "I never said that!"

Finally, on 25 August 2008 WMA VP-Stadia Rex Harvey sent me the relevant rules. IAAF Rule 170.17 clearly indicates that British Team Manager Maurice Doogan - by introducing a relay substitute after the Final Call Room Time - rendered the GBR M65 4x200m relay team at Linz liable to disqualification.

So my complaint against the BMAF Team Manager was justified all the time. My resulting one year's suspension in 2007 for protest - "bringing the sport into disrepute" - has been unsound from start to finish.



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Wed Jun 23, 2010 12:53 am

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:30 am
Posts: 28
Location: Stockholm, Sweden

From: A G E N D A

For the 36th Annual General Meeting of British Masters Athletics Federation to be held on Saturday 3 July 2010, in the Hospitality Suite, 1st Floor, Cardiff International Stadium, Leckwith Road, Cardiff, CF23 9XF commencing at 18.00.


7. Council propose that Winston Thomas, Southern Counties VAC, be granted Life Vice Presidency for his services to the BMAF.



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