A majority of Irish boxing clubs attending today’s EGM voted in favour of constitutional change, which would have allowed the Irish Athletic Boxing Association to join any international federation the members voted for. The special resolution cannot, however, be enacted.
71% of delegates voted in favour, and 29% against. As the special resolution proposed change to our Constitution, it required 75% to pass. That this was not achieved today is less important that the conversations at that took place at our four EGM Info Meetings attended by 111 clubs, the questions posed by our members and shared with all clubs, here, and the almost 3 hours of exchange of views at the home of Irish boxing today.
Attendee clubs: 131
Ballots cast: 122
Spoiled ballots: 4
Total Poll: 118
Votes in favour: 84
Votes against: 34
Result: special resolution not passed
As the special resolution did not pass, the motion, “Does your club wish IABA to remain a member of the International Boxing Association (IBA) AND affiliate to World Boxing?” did not proceed, as it couldn’t be acted upon without the constitutional amendment proposed in the special resolution.
The vote was very tight, just 4% in the difference, but the clubs have spoken. It is very important to note that the majority of clubs here today wanted to change our constitution to allow us flexibility and choice, the bar for passing this special resolution is very high – 75%. It means that IABA remains constitutionally tied to IBA. The Board of Directors respects the outcome of this vote. We understand that many clubs made difficult decisions – and every club put their boxers at the centre of their decision-making. We held meetings in every province before this EGM and what we’ve learned is that we, as a community, need to communicate better with one another. We’ll consult with members on what that looks like, and create a path forward, together, from there.”
Chair of the IABA Board of Directors, Niall O’Carroll
Notes:
Questions posed by members, together with IABA responses are available here
A full list of clubs which attended the EGM Info Meetings is available here
The text of the special resolution is here
The text of the motion is here: (PDF attachment/website link)