Ulster delegates came home from the Swim Ireland (SI) Annual General Meeting in Ennis (April 24-25) in some disarray after the national governing body endorsed a proposal to restrict to four the number of years any person can serve consecutively on a regional management committee (RMC).

When the Ennis AGM closed Ulster couldn't muster a Swim Ulster board (RMC) quorum under the new requirements. Our President, Frank Stevens (Leander club, Belfast); our Treasurer, Alan Gordon (Larne club); our Company Secretary, June Traill (Ballymoney club), all fell to the time-limit guillotine.

So too did senior statespersons Wally Clarke (Cathal Brugha club, Belfast - director without portfolio), Marian McClean (Bangor club - chair of SU education committee) and Joseph Fitzpatrick (Alliance club, Belfast - SU PRO).

Add to that the resignation due to work commitments of our recently acquired Vice-President Trevor Wylie (Banbridge club) and the departures of Robert Gilmer (City of Belfast) and Barney Bree (Ards club and Andrew's dad) and you've caught a flavour of the Ulster dilemna.

Betty Beattie (Lisburn club) and David Craig (Donegall club, Belfast) are both within the four year limit as regards their positions as Ulster Directors on the Swim Ireland board, but have served more than the allotted four years on the Swim Ulster board.

Thankfully, Ulster's pragmatic President Frank Stevens has no tendency to panic. In the heat of debate he gave a reasoned and passionate explanation of Ulster's immediate personnel problem.

Legal advice had dictated that amendments were not acceptable on the day so the Ulster contingent unexpectantly found themselves in a 'yes' or 'no' situation where even their sympathisers in the other provinces found it difficult to respond to Frank's eloquence.

The proposal was carried by the minimum votes required.

"We now have a considerable challenge," says the Swim Ulster leader. "We have realistically until the 2011 Swim Ireland AGM to come into line fully with the other three provinces. It won't be easy, but what in life is?"

That challenge is for all Swim Ulster members .... YOU!

Fancy a worthwhile job oiling the wheels for our swimmers' glory wagon?

More Swim Ireland AGM reports to come.

Posted by Joseph Fitzpatrick, Swim Ulster PRO, Tuesday, April 27, 2010.