‘A vote of confidence’

Having secured another term as president of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), Christopher Samuda says that the mandate is a vote of confidence which he will use to continue his vision in advancing sports in the island.

Samuda, the incumbent, defeated challenger Alan Beckford by a final count of 40-10 at the JOA elections held at their extraordinary general meeting (EGM) yesterday. Jamaica Volleyball Association president Jackie Cowan will join the board as the JOA’s first female vice-president, defeating incumbent Nelson ‘Chris’ Stokes 29-21. Robert Scott returns as second vice-president, defeating challenger, Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association vice-president Ian Forbes, 33-17.

The vote brings to a close an election that brought concerns about the accelerated process, two weeks before the start of the Tokyo Olympics. Additionally, there was the concern about the financial statements and their readiness for the member associations before the vote. Samuda referenced the JOA constitution that the financials do not need to be displayed at an EGM.

Samuda cautioned critics of due diligence regarding the financial statements and says that the re-election was a vote of confidence not only in his leadership but in the vision that he sees for the JOA.

Realise our mission

“This vote demonstrates that our reputation is in fact intact, and therefore we will look to the next four years and we will continue to do good work,” Samuda said. “We are exceptionally proud in terms of our record. So I am humbled, and at the same time I am very happy because it now gives the team another four years to articulate our vision and to realise our mission.”

Samuda referenced the letter that the Charities Authority sent to the JOA dated July 7, apologising for the error in information which originally stated that the body was not current with their filings.

Although the International Olympic Committee had given national Olympic committees dispensation last year to hold elections after the Games because of COVID-19, Samuda said that it was important that the leadership of the association was determined early.

“You always have to have certitudes in life, and we go for certainty. This is a global event and we thought that we get this out of the way so that we could look with some certainty to the future, and this is the exactly the approach that we took,” he said. “Now we can look forward to the Olympics, we can continue to plan and, of course, we are going to be able to demonstrate to our member associations the value of having issues settled early so that you can look at the next quadrennial with some sort of certainty and with a clear vision.”

Beckford said that, while the shortened timeline made the campaigning process difficult, he had no regrets in his efforts to win the presidency.

“I’m not going to complain,” he said. “I did the best that I could do. The members spoke. They decided who they wanted for the next four years. I wish the president and the new board all the best and I hope that Jamaica gets to the place that we’d all like to get to in sports.”

Beckford has pledged to work with the new administration and says that he hopes that the flaws that were outlined during the process are corrected.

Among the returnees to the executive body are Nichole Case, who remains as honorary treasurer, Yvonne Kong, Laurel Smith, Raymond Anderson, and Fabian Stewart, as directors. Gary Peart is the new face in the executive, having been elected to a director position.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com

JOA board

Christopher Samuda - president

Jackie Cowan - first VP

Robert Scott - second VP

Nichole Case - honorary treasurer

Laurel Smith - director

Raymond Anderson - director

Gary Peart - director

Fabian Stewart - director

Yvonne Kong - director