I write as a triathlete (the slowest one in the country), the wife of a triathlete (who’s not the slowest one in the country), a volunteer triathlon organiser, and more recently, the Team Manager for the National Squad.
I would like to ask please, about the Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee. If SASNOC is the governing body for sports in Samoa – who checks SASNOC? Who holds them accountable? Who makes sure they are following their constitution?
I ask because in April this year we sought advice from SASNOC officials about our sports federation. Our President has been living in NZ since 2020. Theres been no AGM since 2015. No financial audits done. The president has been in his position for going on 9 years now. We asked, what should we do? We were advised to follow our constitution.
We tried that. The constitution requires that all Board members reside in Samoa. Wow, we thought this is straightforward then! We had a meeting. 36 members agreed he couldnt be President because he doesnt live here. We elected a new Board. We told SASNOC. We fixed the problem, yay!
But no. SASNOC said we had to work things out with him. We hadnt followed the constitution closely enough.
Our president reacted by flying back to Samoa, attempting to change the constitution. He removed Board members. Suspended people. Told others they were never members anyway.
Then we discovered that our sports federation is actually deregistered by MCIL for failing to meet all its obligations under the law. It’s been a defunct organisation since 2020. We told SASNOC. This is really big bad important news right?! Especially since this year alone, SASNOC gave this federation a $16,000 equipment grant. And we dont know what other money SASNOC has given triathlon in other years that it was deregistered? (Since theres no accounts done. Oh, and we dont have access to the bank account either. Not even the Treasurer can sign for it.)
But no. SASNOC wasnt disturbed by this information at all. It didnt bother them that they had given money to a sports federation that has zero financial accountability. And is defunct. The SASNOC Board president advised us to work things out. For the good of the sport. He even offered to help mediate.
We all met to discuss the issues. Two SASNOC staff attended as observers. (But the SASNOC president never showed up.) Some of the things we asked our president for – please set a date for an AGM, have the overdue accounts audited, tell us who is doing the accounts, have regular meetings IN PERSON HERE IN SAMOA that all the parents and athletes can attend… Reasonable things. Nothing wild. Our president refused to respond to any of our requests. Mediation was a big fail.
So then we used the constitution to request a Special General Meeting. The purpose? To vote out the president and his inactive Board. And vote in a new one.
We followed every constitutional detail to the letter. We even got legal counsel to help us make sure our meeting would be 100% legit.
The meeting was held. SASNOC board members were official observers. We removed the president and his exec. Voted 46 to 1. We got a new Executive, made up of athletes, parents and coaches. All the people who are doing the work for our sport. Problem solved, bring on the future of triathlon! Right?
No. SASNOC said they dont accept our meeting outcome. They dont recognise our new Executive. OR the old one. They said, work things out. We have 3 months. Or theyll suspend the federation completely.
I’m confused. What is it about 46 to 1 members voting that SASNOC doesnt accept? What other kind of “work it out” do they have in mind? It seems like the only acceptable #workItOut outcome SASNOC will accept, is one where the old president gets to still be the president and keep doing what he’s doing? And meanwhile, in this 3 months, we are supposed to just keep on training the athletes, organising all the events, paying for everything ourselves as we have been doing for the last 3 years, growing the sport in Samoa…while our “president” and his inactive Board continue to do nothing with the athletes?
Then we find out what the SASNOC President didnt tell us. He knows who’s doing the audits of our overdue accounts, because its HIS accounting firm doing the audit. The fee is $7,000.
We tell the SASNOC board, surely this is a conflict of interest right? They seem unbothered. I dare to ask them if this can be seen as an attempt to rush hush cover up that they gave money to an unregistered sports federation with no audited accounts? The Board president tells me I’ve gone ‘too far’. And that I should focus on the problems in my own sport.
Our “president” tries to file these accounts with MCIL, even though the members havent seen them and approved them at an AGM. We tell SASNOC. Unbothered.
Then we find out that the SASNOC president has himself been the leader of his own sports association (basketball) for going on 10 years. They have not held an AGM since 2012 which is when he was elected. But their constitution requires they have an AGM every year before 31st of July.
Not only that, but basketball has submitted audited accounts to MCIL – that were never passed/approved by the members at an AGM. Which breaches their basketball constitution AND also the Incorporated Societies Act as outlined by MCIL on its website.
It seems to me that the SASNOC president should take some of his own advice. And focus on the problems in his sport?
Now I understand why it wasnt shocking to SASNOC that triathlon hadnt had an AGM since 2015. Why it didnt bother them that our members have not had financial accountability from our federation. Why it wasnt a big deal to them that our president wasnt following the rules.
Because even the President of SASNOC doesnt follow the rules for governing sports in this country either. Which makes me wonder, what about the other SASNOC board members? How are their sports federations being run? Are they doing their very best to ensure they are following their constitutions?
If SASNOC is meant to be the governing body for sport, then surely it must first ensure that it’s own Board members are doing their utmost best to follow the rules when it comes to their own sporting federations? Or maybe, the rules are just pretty words on paper for showing to international donors? They arent actually rules for following? Maybe LOTS of sports federations in this country are in a similar mess to ours because nobody follows the rules? And it starts at the top. Does SASNOC even check that sports federations are registered and MCIL compliant? Does it never occur to them to ask HEY YOUR PRESIDENT HAS BEEN IN THERE FOR TEN YEARS NOW. HAVE YOU HAD ANY AGMs AT ALL?
Over the last 3 months of struggle as we have tried to clean up the mess that is our sport, the counsel we keep getting from everyone, is to – follow your constitution. I have read ours so often now that I have sections memorised! I’ve been reading the constitution for other sports bodies too. With great interest. I’ve been studying SASNOC’s constitution also. They all share things in common. Including noble words about ethics and fairness.
Which brings me back to my question Honorable Minister – who makes sure SASNOC is following its constitution? Who holds them accountable?
Because at the end of the day, when sport isnt being governed in an ethical and fair way, the ones who stand to gain are sports administrators. And the ones who lose out the most – are the athletes.
Lani Wendt Young
Triathlete.