Impasse following IABA meeting

THE situation in the administration of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association appears to be deadlocked following last Saturday's traumatic central council meeting in the National Stadium.

Two motions were passed which were severely critical of the association president, Nicky White from Wexford.

One motion censured him for attending a boxing tournament in Wales, organised under the banner of a breakaway association, in which his own club St Jude's were also involved.

The other resulted in the passing of a vote of no confidence in the president.

White said last night that he would not be making a statement before the end of the week. At a previous meeting of the standing committee of the association, the affair involving the Maestegdub in Wales resulted in the resignation of the treasurer of the IABA, Martin Power.

It is believed that since then there has been no contact between the president and the other members of the officer board apart from last Saturday's meeting when it was clear that tensions existed among those at the top table.

During the discussions on the relevant matter of the Maesteg tournament, Nicky White handed over the chairmanship of the meeting to the vice-president Breandan O Conaire, who chaired the discussion and voting on the two motions.

White had been expected to resign after the two motions had been passed by clear majorities, but he left the National Stadium without doing so and has not indicated his position to his fellow officers since.

The problem now for the IABA is to establish how the association can be governed while this impasse continues.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Nicky White is also chairman of the board of trustees of the association.