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Keith Atkins, the elected treasurer of the AAA of England has been suspended from this role.
In his Finance Report to the Annual General Meeting on 19th March 2005 Keith wrote: "I do have a major concern that the intended One Stop Plan format for the future funding of athletics contains fundamental flaws that will increase rather than reduce bureaucracy, and that it will vest to much power into the hands of the governing body of athletics in the United Kingdom".
Keith's crime was increasing the volume of his concerns because the sport was being sleep walked into the Foster changes, which will close down our existing structure of the AAA of England, and the English Regions (North, South and Midlands), replacing them with quango's funded by Sport England.
They cannot close down our Associations alone. They need to persuade the clubs to vote to close them down. On offer is £20 million pounds, and a leap of faith, that clubs will actually benefit from this money. It is a leap of faith that this web site is not prepared to take.
If our Associations are closed down, they will not return. When the train leaves the station, the station will be demolished and the lines ripped away to prevent us from ever going back.
They hide behind the term Modernisation, but when you ask what it means you get hopes and dreams glued together by complicated bureaucracy.
Our sport owes Keith Atkins, the AAA of England Treasurer a debt of gratitude for being the lone voice at the AAA's who stood up and argued against these disastrous changes.
George Bunner the Chairman of the AAA of England is now moving his goalposts by saying the AAA's won't be closed, but will pass on all responsibilities to the new quango England Athletics. This amounts to the same thing. A vote at the forthcoming EGM against the Chairman, George Bunner's proposals represents a vote to save the AAA of England.
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