Triathlon Ireland hosted the first Virtual AGM to be held by a sporting body in Ireland on Saturday with 62 club delegates and board members joining remotely from their homes using the Zoom app.
The meeting that was also streamed live for the public on YouTube in another first.
The innovative measure was necessitated by the social distancing restrictions relating to the COVID-19 situation and was structured according to advice from Triathlon Ireland’s legal advisers.
Three members of Triathlon Ireland managed the meeting in three separate rooms from the organisation’s headquarters on the Sport Ireland Campus in Blanchardstown, which was a requirement under company law and the body’s constitution. Permission was also granted by Sport Ireland for this measure in advance.
Triathlon Ireland President Lochlann Walsh chaired the meeting from his home in North County Dublin, while CEO Chris Kitchen presented the organisation’s annual report from London, where he has been since March after being unable to return to Ireland at the outset of the travel restrictions.
Delegates to the meeting were briefed on what was a very successful 2019 with licence holders exceeding 18,500 and female participation reaching 36%.
Clubs were also briefed on the organisation’s ongoing measures to cope with the current social distancing restrictions, as well as plans to allow the resumption of the triathlon season in July, pending the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
There was discussion of the new Strategic Plan for the sport which will run from 2021 to 2028 over eight years in line with the Government’s National Sports Policy.
Delegates re-elected Bernard Hanratty as Vice President, while Anna Deegan and Emma Killian were elected as ordinary members to the Triathlon Ireland board.
“I was really pleased with the result of hosting the AGM in this fashion,” said Kitchen.
“It is fantastic to pioneer new systems and solutions to problems created by the pandemic.”
“In these challenging times, it is very important for the triathlon family to stay in touch and engaged,” added Walsh.
“While it is important that we meet our statutory requirements the real benefit of today’s AGM was that our clubs had an opportunity to learn how well the organisation is performing and how we are managing the current crisis.”
“We had great interaction, questions and input from the clubs and also had two new highly qualified directors appointed to the board.”
“To be honest we were a little nervous about how effective the meeting would be but I am delighted that Triathlon Ireland is now in a stronger position after a really positive and constructive AGM.”
It is possible to watch back the AGM on the triathlon Ireland YouTube channel here.
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