Tennis NSW’s president has survived a vote of no confidence at an extraordinary members’ meeting, sparked by long-standing tensions within the Australian tennis community.
Key points:
- Tennis NSW president Kim Warwick survived with 63 per cent of the vote
- Some members were unhappy with his handling of historical sexual abuse allegations within Tennis NSW.
- The meeting to remove the president has been described as “destructive” by Tennis Australia executives.
At a Tennis NSW extraordinary general meeting on Friday evening, members voted against the motion by its president, Kim Warwick.
This will come as a relief to tennis administrators, particularly at Tennis Australia, nervous about the divisive affair, and just months away from the state hosting the new ATP Cup event in January.
The meeting was called by members unhappy with the president’s performance, including during a three-year battle over how to sanction former Tennis NSW directors over their handling of historical sexual abuse allegations.
In March, The ABC revealed that sport in New South Wales had been divided by disagreement over whether or not former board members should be stripped of their life memberships. for their role in the treatment of a child who complained of alleged sexual abuse by a coach in the 1990s.
It can now be revealed that the former directors will retain their honors after apologizing to the alleged victim and a whistleblower.
But members who spoke out against Mr Warwick argued it was not just his role in the matter, but his leadership was also being questioned over his “ability to unite… board members and colleagues”.
Mr Warwick chaired a division within the board where three directors were removed over allegations they had misused the membership database – allegations which were ultimately dismissed.
Tennis Australia president Jayne Hrdlicka and chief executive Craig Tiley pleaded with NSW members in a letter late last month, saying the meeting to impeach the president was “unwarranted, destructive and contrary to the best interests of tennis in NSW”.
Mr. Warwick was elected to remain on the board with 63 percent of the vote.
In a statement to members last night, Mr Warwick said he would work to restore confidence in Tennis NSW’s leadership and would “make it his priority to reunite our currently fractured tennis community”.
“I am now committed to working with my fellow board members and all of our affiliates to restore confidence in the leadership of this organization,” the statement said.
The disagreements were sparked by the handling of alleged abuse of a 15-year-old by a senior tennis coach. (ABC News)
The shadow of alleged abuse in the 90s
The actions of the eight former board members were examined at the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The commission has criticized Tennis NSW for offering “no support” to a 15-year-old girl who claimed she was sexually abused by a senior coach.
Tennis NSW pushed the eight to lose their life memberships in order to “cure” the sport, but the group resisted, instead pushing the sport towards what was described to the ABC by people on both sides as a “civil war”.
As the bitter disagreement intensified, Tennis NSW even called on former Federal Court judge Annabelle Bennett in a bid to break the impasse with an independent investigation.
The ABC can reveal that Dr Bennett’s report, released late last month, concluded the eight “should not be required to accept the findings of the royal commission”.
She said they “could have done a number of things differently,” such as monitoring the teen’s well-being, making sure she didn’t feel like she wasn’t believed, and not allowing the coach in question to return to duty after the claims were made.
However, she felt they had followed legal advice at the time, which “could be considered prudent”.
Dr. Bennett ruled that the eight men had breached the organization’s statutes for not apologizing to Amanda Chaplin, the whistleblower in the affair.
Tennis NSW acknowledged the “emotional and financial” cost of the episode. (ABC News)
The only former director who was not required to apologize was Carol Langsford, who had already taken it upon herself to do so, and was the only one of the eight to appear in person before the royal commission.
The rest of the group – Harry Beck, Malcolm Bergmann, Des Nicholl, Stan Pedersen, Ken Rose, John Whittaker and Paul Wigney – have since apologized, avoiding 12-month suspensions.
Life members said they had passed on their “sincere apologies” to the girl and her supporter.
In a statement, the Tennis NSW board said it had “worked tirelessly over recent months to bring the issue of life membership to a head and ensure we have done all we can to promote safe sport for children”.
“The royal commission report and the questions that resulted from it have caused significant divisions within the tennis community,” the statement said.
“It is now up to the President, Board of Directors and management to do everything we can to help reunite our tennis family and once again protect and promote the sport we all love.”
