AITA to follow government guidelines on age and tenure

NEW DELHI - The All India Tennis Association (AITA) Friday declared that it will adhere to the government guidelines regarding the tenure and age of the office bearers.

The AITA executive committee met Friday and unanimously agreed on the decision to follow government guidelines which puts a cap on the tenure and age of office bearers, and has been a thorn in the flesh of most National Sports Federations (NSF).

“Responding to public opinion, the committee unanimously endorsed the views of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) that good governance, transparency, accountability and democratic elections have to be encouraged in all NSF’s,” AITA secretary general Anil Khanna said in a statement.

“In the executive committee, the president Yashwant Sinha said that the government guidelines with respect to tenure and age of office bearers should be adhered to by the AITA. These views were unanimously approved.

“The AITA committee also considered the guidelines in respect of limitations of tenure of the president to 12 years and that of the secretary/treasurer for a maximum of two consecutive terms of four years and, thereafter, a cooling period of four years. The Committee also discussed the age limitation of 70 years as projected in the constitution of the IOC and now included in the guidelines,” said Khanna.

The executive committee also backed the decision to chose Rebound Ace as surface for the courts.

“All actions taken by the AITA were 100 percent correct and above board and there was no conflict of interest whatsoever of any office bearers of AITA in this process,” the release said.

“The committee further noted that by following the process of competitive bidding the government saved upto 30 per cent (around Rs.40 lakh).”

The executive committee also took note of the MOU signed by Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) and AITA with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on use of facilities at the refurbished R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium.

The committee resolved that AITA and DLTA will use the facility in accordance with the government guidelines as well as Ministry of Urban Development to promote the game of tennis and be able to generate surplus for sustenance of the complex.

The committee also discussed the implementation of the coaches’ education programme in collaboration with ITF.

“AITA wishes to have official recognition of the ITF, like Australia and Spain to the able to grade coaches international,” the release said.