I was rather looking forward to being able to exercise my democratic right, and even vote electronically, as an individual member of our governing body in the elections for new members of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club Board. But it appears that I won't be able to do this, at least not this year. Nor will you!
The news yesterday (here) is that there is only one nomination for the position of Director. This came from Willie Nicoll, the current chairman, who put himself forward for a second term. There were no nominations for a second vacancy on the Board!
This means that Willie will be re-elected without need for a vote. I believe his experience and knowledge have been an asset to the Board in the past three years, notwithstanding his blunder at the last AGM about whether the Royal Club did, or did not, maintain a list of its historical assets. I am assured one is now being compiled, all the memorabilia is stored in one place, and that care for, and the security of, trophies has been made a priority.
I did smile at his personal statement in his nomination papers for a second term. He says, "I wish to continue to be involved in the evolution of the Royal Club and to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the game."
'Evolution' of the Royal Club? This is a word I've used often myself in describing the change that our sport has undergone over the years. Those interested in scientific principles may well contemplate if our governing body is undergoing evolution by natural selection, or whether it is headed for extinction. If no-one is willing to serve on the Board of Directors then I suspect that the latter is the scenario in prospect.
That's sad, and worrying. I have to ask, as you might too, "Why does no-one want to serve on the national governing body of our sport?" We need good people running curling in Scotland.
To complete the picture, Pat Edington will become President - he's the current Vice-president. And Bill Duncan (currently about to face the important week as the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the World Juniors) is the sole nominee as the incoming Royal Club Vice-president.
The President and CEO (Bruce Crawford) are Directors, and the following are serving their terms as Elected Directors: Anne Malcolm, Bob Kelly, Trevor Dodds and Kay Gibb.
