Parkites to vote on women today

THE Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) will stage a special General Meeting today to vote on the controversial issue of admitting females as members. For the last three years, this has been a burning issue with the majority of members not in favour of allowing females into the hallowed halls of Tragarete Road. On the table from 5 pm at the Oval, will be two resolutions which could change the face of the revered venue both literally and figuratively.

The first resolution is an affirmative statement that women are eligible for admission to all classes of membership of the club and that girls are eligible for admission to colt membership. The second resolution proposes amendments that are necessary to bring the club’s rules in line with this new position. President of QPCC, William Rodriguez in a letter dated September 21 (today), today 2004 says: “The Committee is of the view that in the current social environment, it is imperative and in the best interest of the club to admit women and girls  to membership. I would therefore encourage members to cast their votes in favour of the resolutions proposed by the Committee.” But Rodriguez, a former national cricketer forsees problems. “As this notice was being prepared the Committee received a requisition pursuant to Rule 30 (2) from 50 members of the club proposing an alternative amendment to the club’s rules.

“This alternative amendment in accordance with Rule 30 (2) will also be considered at the Special General Meeting on October 21, 2004. “The requisitioners have proposed an amendment which, if passed, would prohibit the consideration of a vote on the introduction of female members prior to June 2007. The requisition further proposes that if in 2007 such a resolution is defeated that it cannot be reopened for a period of at least three years,” says Rodriguez. But he insists the committee does not support these amendments and encourages members to cast their votes against the resolutions today. Vice president of QPCC, Bruce Aanensen, in an email to all the members of the club pointed out that the club is at a critical point in its development and the time has come to shake off the old traditions and embrace the future.

“If we hope to continue to enjoy international cricket and be the envy of all other clubs in the region, we simply must change,” he stated. “On the question of continued international cricket being played at the Oval, we need to take note of the fact that the Prime Minister has publicly indicated that he has a problem  providing funding to the club for the Cricket World Cup 2007 because of its policy on gender discrimination. “In furtherance of this position, the Prime Minister has commissioned the construction of a new cricket facility in Marabella which will be completed by 2006. His intention is to have World Cup matches at this facility and not at the Oval,” added Aanensen. “Your Management Committee has already done all that is necessary to ensure that this does not happen. We have been given a guarantee by the appropriate authorities that the World Cup will be at the Oval. We must, however, ensure that post 2007, we continue to enjoy the same amount of international cricket, and to this end we have developed a plan to address this issue. We are confident that we will be successful in this regard,” he stated.

Additionally, the West Indies Cricket Board at a meeting held last year, unanimously agreed to adopt the position of the Caricom Heads of Government that they would not support any clubs or associations that practice any type of discrimination. “While they have not made an issue of this with us to date, there remains a risk that they may adopt policies in the future that will not be in our club’s interest,” he said. It seems as well, that sponsors at the Queen’s Park Cricket Club are also objecting to the alienation of women from the club. “Many of our major sponsors have indicated that they are unable to support the venture under the present gender discriminatory policy of the club. It is against this background that your Management Committee initiated dialogue with the membership two years ago and provided members with every opportunity to voice their views and to listen to those of others which may differ,” notes Aanensen

“Unfortunately, a group of members have proposed a counter resolution to block the progress of the club. From my own perspective, this is a group of uninformed or misguided individuals who appear to have their own agenda, which is certainly not in the best interest of the general membership. Their attempt to prevent the progress of our club and to doom it to be a white elephant in the future simply cannot be allowed to succeed,” he stated. “I urge members to insist that these resolutions be heard and voted on as the first item on the agenda at the meeting on October 21 (today) and thus ensure that the rights of all members are preserved. This will also determine whether or not the meeting can proceed with the second item, ie the vote on female membership,” Aanensen concluded.

Former Management Committee member of the Queens Park Cricket Club, Clifford Murray is among the group of 50 that have objected to the resolutions. “The second, and to me more upsetting, issue is the manner of management’s dealing with the members in respect of female membership. I have grown increasingly uncomfortable as a result of the following actions,” states Murray in a letter to members. “Over the last few years senior members of management have been quoted or misquoted, in the press. Little effort was made to correct these statements or the impressions left in the minds of the members reading them. In at least one instance a decision taken by management was conveyed to the press before being released to the membership,” he stated.

“Management has used the report submitted by the Sub-Committee on female membership in it’s justification for proceeding with a vote on the issue. However, we have totally ignored the very powerful sentiments expressed by several members of that sub-committee at a meeting they requested with management to identify their concerns deliberately omitted from that report. “A request by members in accordance with Rule 30 (2) for a special general meeting to defer voting on female membership until June 2007 was received on September 21. Using a legal technicality, management has scheduled this to be heard on October 21 immediately after the vote on female membership takes place. This effectively dismisses the petition and silences the 50 petitioners who signed as well as those members who may be in support of it,” Murray stated.