Athletics in the UK: The Rise and Fall of the BAF

30 The McAllister Plan In 1987, Derek Johnson became Assistant Treasurer of the Southern Counties and persuaded its General Committee that he should have “ special responsibility for the South‟s financial relationship with the AAA ”. In what could be seen as a sign of trouble ahead, he wrote to the Treasurer Martin Cartwright that he, Johnson, should replace Cartwright on the powerful AAA’s Finance and General Purposes Committee, with the scarcely veiled threat that, otherwise, he would challenge Cartwright for his position. Cartwright declined and, within a year, Johnson was the Treasurer of the Southern Counties AAA (with Cartwright his assistant) and was to use his position to become a thorn in the flesh of the AAA. At the same time, David Bedford became the Assistant Honorary Secretary of the Southern Counties and the stage was set for what was to come. Despite considerable efforts by McAllister and others behind the scenes to find common ground on the draft constitution, it proved impossible to bridge the gap between the alternative views and the EGM was duly convened. The clubs would have to decide between the McAllister proposals and an amendment from the Southern Counties that their six principles should prevail. The scene was set for a showdown; and so it proved. The battle became dirty with, seemingly, much at stake. First out of the blocks was the AAA with a press release called Federation News . The first line of this betrayed its credibility by stating that “ the clubs of England will meet to decide the sort of Federation (BAF) they envisage ” Had Wales (still part of the AAA) been airbrushed out? The South hit back with “ THE HIDDEN AGENDA ”, claiming that the McAllister plan would effectively disfranchise the clubs. The Women’s AAA weighed in on the side of McAllister; and why wouldn’t they as England, with men and women combined, would rule the roost? And so it went on, with much outpouring of ink and money on increasingly vitriolic advertisements in Athletics Weekly and circulars to clubs, until the shoot–out had to be finally settled by voting.