Tennis Scotland's board has been accused of making "a power grab" after outlining the measures it plans to take to address its apparent administrative disarray.
Following the resignations of the organisation's president and vice- president - they cited serious concerns over both the possibility of cronyism being at play in appointments and a lack of transparency in decision-making, as revealed in The Herald earlier this month - it has emerged that it has been unable to fill the role of performance director.
In a message issued this week to members, David Marshall, the chief executive, reported: "There were no suitable applicants for the position of performance director and, in view of the current performance review being undertaken . . . it has been decided to leave this position vacant pending the outcome of that review."
Meanwhile, it transpires that the organisation's rules mean it will take seven months to replace the president and vice-president, yet the board has the power to co-opt another interim appointee to fill the gap until then.
"Following the recent resignations of the president and vice-president, the Tennis Scotland board of directors is proposing a special resolution which allows for the appointment of a new president and vice-president at an extraordinary general meeting to be held in May 2015," Marshall told members. "In the meantime, the board intends to invite a person to join the board as interim vice-president . . . The board hopes to shortly be in a position to advise members about this appointment."
In the same missive, Marshall indicated that John Frame, a long-standing official within the sport, is being proposed to take on the portfolio of tennis services director and that the current chairman, who was due to stand down at December's annual meeting, is going to stay on.
All of which led one club official to express considerable cynicism yesterday, suggesting that in the face of the criticism levelled by the out-going president and vice-president, executives are simply seeking to protect their positions.
"I feel that this will inevitably entrench power more firmly with the current elite group and reduce the influence of the membership," he said. "John Frame is undoubtedly experienced, but mainly in refereeing, and sitting on a committee does not mean a person has the skills to pro-actively move the sport forward.
"Was there no candidate who fitted the board's vision of the job and, if not, what was the selection criteria? Also, if there was no suitable candidate why did they not apply? Could this be something to do with the control the board would exert over the holder of the post?
"Why should the board select and appoint an interim person as this will give this person a significant advantage and therefore increase the board's stranglehold. An egm should be held long before May 2015.
"What exactly is the point of appointing a chair of Tennis Scotland other than to act as a further reduction in the influence of the members. The appointment is unclear as to whether it is permanent, but I suspect that this will remove any remaining influence of the president and vice-president. To my mind, this gives the appearance of a further power grab."
Privately, there is understood to be acknowledgement within the board that the length of time required before an egm can be staged, and in particular the failure to anticipate the circumstances that mean it will take so long to fill the void left by the president and vice-president, undermines the confidence previously expressed in the governance model.
A Tennis Scotland spokesperson sought to clarify the board's position yesterday by stating: "The position of interim head of performance, which was approved by the board, is an executive position, whereas the performance director is a volunteer role on the board of directors. As stated, there were no suitable candidates and, as the interim head of performance will be reporting to the board following a six-month review of all aspects of performance, it was decided to review that role then.
"Regarding the egm, the timing of the resignations of the president and vice-president did not leave sufficient time under the articles for the members and districts to elect new representatives prior to the agm. The purpose of the egm is to give them that opportunity.
"The timetable fixed mirrors the timetable under the articles. Under the articles, we can appoint an interim vice-president and that is a process we are currently under-taking. As far as the chairman is concerned, further correspondence will be relayed to our members in due course following the unexpected resignations of the president and vice-president."
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