Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
TRIATHLON Zimbabwe are set to effect constitutional amendments to extend the term of the executive board at the organisation’s annual meeting scheduled for Saturday at Old Georgians Sports Club.
The AGM will also see the election of the 2025-2026 board.
For the elections, the nominations closed last Friday with incumbent Ross O’Donoghue the sole nominee for the presidency.
Similarly, incumbent vice-president Pamela Fulton, treasurer Rob Goddard and fourth member Kevin Nicholson were retained unopposed at the close of the nominations.
O’Donoghue said the amendment is on the term of office for the board, which is currently one year and they would want to make it a four-year cycle.
“In terms of changes to the constitution, we are amending the term of the board, the main one, and that will be so that a board can gain momentum over an Olympic cycle.
“You can achieve more in four years than you can in one.
“So, it’s quite a difficult one because to get people to commit to those roles for a four-year period is hard.
“But we are trying to align ourselves more with the SRC and what they stipulate we should have in our constitution as triathlon.
“We are going to make those amendments this year,” said O’Donoghue.
He believes the changes are key for long-term development plans and programmes and continuity.
“Look, I think it’s very important for the long-term programmes that you have to have continuity within your board.
“The president of Triathlon Zimbabwe sort of comes up with a vision, and then if that president is no longer the president the following year, then the vision might be changed.
“And then any work that you make towards achieving your goals are null and void if the next president changes the programme.
“So, what we are trying to do is, yes, a president in a one-year cycle can do great things, but not for the long term.
“We are making this change in the constitution to try and improve our long-term planning and our long-term goals so that we achieve those goals in an Olympic cycle,” added O’Donoghue.
Apart from the constitution amendment, the meeting will then review the previous season with presentations of reports by the treasurer, the president and the various committees and commissions.
“It’s pretty much business as usual.
“We are coming off a successful season of some great results and some great awards from our athletes and administrators.
“And there is a lot of unfinished business in terms of what we are trying to achieve as triathlon in Zimbabwe with the development of facilities and high-performance centres.
“We were hoping to have made more progress this season, but it’s something that we are going to continue building on in the upcoming season with the help of SRC, ZOC and the Ministry.
“We are quite excited about that,” said O’Donoghue.
dyton mupawaenda