Hickey confidently launches campaign to stay at the top

A glossy manifesto and an equally impressive performance from Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president Pat Hickey, kicked off his bid for victory in the OCI elections in February.

While a conciliatory mood from the often confrontational president might have been disarming, a polished Hickey put some issues to bed and addressed others which had been simmering for some weeks.

What caught the eye in a large and broad-ranging presentation, was Hickey's decision to launch an investigation into the OCI's "Articles of Association".

For some time, the allegation that the OCI lacked democracy has been levelled at the organisation. Principally, that issue revolves around a general meeting which took place in the Shelbourne Hotel in March 1989.

The executive committee went into the hotel with six votes and came out with 10 - about 30 percent of the vote. At that time, there were 23 voting federations.

Speculation about whether company law was followed, whether federations were correctly circulated about the fundamental changes and whether the meeting was minuted were all put to Hickey, who emphasised that he was not president when the changes were made.

"There has been a lot of speculation in the press and comments made, so I feel it's an opportune time to do this," he said of the examination.

"A commission has been set up to investigate it (the articles) and come up with suggestions. We'll then let the full membership decide on exactly what they want to do."

Hickey also said that the OCI's legal advice has assured him that everything has been done correctly.

"I'm not a company lawyer. All I can say is that our firm of solicitors, Arthur Cox, have told us that absolutely every step we have taken is correct by the statutes and by the companies office and they have told us that every resolution that was adopted in 1989 was done correctly and properly. It has been done by the book. Due notice was given."

The minutes from the 1989 general meeting in Dublin were requested for transparency reasons, but Hickey said he must first consult with Arthur Cox, the OCI's legal advisers.

"I wouldn't see any problem with that (making the minutes public). But what I'll do is go back and get advice from the solicitors and, if it's available and they say yes, then it's no problem," he said.

Other proposals centred around offering a conditional olive branch to the parties with whom the OCI have traditionally battled.

A representative from the Irish Sports Council and the Department of Sport will, in future, be invited to attend all executive meetings of the OCI which, it is claimed, "will help build bridges and establish a rapport".

Greater planning and co-operation with those bodies will be initiated and a Board of Patrons will be set up, which will "generate additional sponsorship funds for the OCI National Federations".

Based on the "Sydney Olympic Village", Hickey plans to provide a "full-time professional staff" to work in the Irish team headquarters in Athens. The OCI performance at Sydney was described by many athletes as poor.

The most delicious incentive which emerged at the meeting was that of the revamped Olympic Solidarity Fund.

Hickey's manifesto points out that he is one of three people in the International Olympic Council responsible for administering Europe's £11.7 million slice of that cake and "will therefore be in a unique position to ensure that Ireland's interests are catered for".

Finishing with a message of inclusiveness, Hickey emphasised the diplomatic tone of the meeting. "I'm a great believer in reconciliation. That is the biggest component in the Olympic Games," he said.

But he did not depart without a side-swipe at his presidential opponent Richard Burrows, who spends most of his working time in Paris running drinks company Pernod Ricard.

"The feedback I'm getting is that a figurehead president cannot do the job the federations want. I'm based full-time in Dublin and am accessible at all times to the athletes and federations," he said.