24/10/2022
Mick Van Kampen
On the 26th of September Mr. Van Kampen published a lengthy document on this page and the Geraldton Pool Players page.
This is a response to the lies and misrepresentations contained in his document.
Sorry about the length of this but if you want the truth read on.
The full description of the actions taken by the Committee;
Mr. Van Kampen was initially given a limited suspension excluding him from holding office in the Association for a period of 12 months. This came about because he admitted mismanaging the Association accounts and for using Association funds to pay his country week fees of $150-00.
His admission was made in front of the full Committee and immediately following this the Committee moved a vote of no confidence in him as Treasurer (9 votes for and one abstention) and he was dismissed from the position of Treasurer and the suspension was imposed.
The penalty was imposed under sections 34, 34(a) and 34(b) of the Constitution, he was however allowed to continue playing and was allowed to continue coaching juniors provided he agreed to a set of conditions.
The method of appeal is outlined in the Constitution however Mr. Van Kampen did not appeal the Committee’s decision.
Mr. Van Kampen agreed to all the conditions set by the Committee but then proceed to delay and avoid compliance wherever he could and to ignore the condition set on the collection of fees from the juniors. He to convince one of the newer bar staff at the Italian Club that it wasn’t their job to collect or hold funds for our Association. This was complete hypocrisy as he had used the same staff to collect and hold funds for the Association selling chocolate bars for his entire 4 years as Treasurer. The President and Vice President of the Italian Club agreed with us that the staff could continue to help us out and they instructed their staff accordingly.
Later on in the year Mr. Van Kampen committed Association funds by ordering shirts for the juniors without any authority to do so. Prior to this he was told to work out what he needed for the juniors and to report back to the Committee, he says that he was never invited to a committee meeting to do this. This is a lie. The delegates meeting minutes of 28th June 2022 clearly contain his invitation to the Committee meeting and the date time and place of the meeting is stated below the invitation. The minutes were sent to him as a delegate of the Choppers team prior to the Committee meeting being held however, having been given the opportunity to attend, he simply didn’t turn up and didn’t contact us. The next thing we heard about shirts is when we received the invoice from the manufacturer.
The Committee then decided enough is enough. Mr. Van Kampen’s suspension was increased to a full suspension of membership and a fine of $200 was imposed. Provided the fine is paid he can re-apply for membership at the start of the long season. There was a delay in the imposition of the full suspension. This was deliberate to allow him to attend the Wind-Up and present the trophies to the juniors. Now having read the rubbish he has written I have no idea why we gave him this concession.
All the above is supported by documentary evidence.
Response to Mr. Van Kampen’s document point by point
The preamble
As stated above the offences against the association, the suspension and the method of appeal are all covered by the existing Constitution. Reference to the model rules is therefore not required. This section of his document is irrelevant and misleading
Points 1 and 6.
Mr. Van Kampen says he was not invited to a Committee meeting. This is untrue; documentation exists to prove that he was invited.
Point 2
I agree that the parent paid for a shirt however his statement that he had a conversation with me about it is false. I had no conversations with Mr. Van Kampen without a witness being present following his complaint at a Delegates meeting that I said “Hello” to him.
Point 3
Staff are not allowed to collect money for the Association, this is already covered above, Mr. Van Kampen has proved himself to be dishonest and a hypocrite
Points 4 and 5
Verbal comments and complaints about his sledging both the Committee as a whole and individual Committee members contribute to the overall picture of his unacceptable attitude. They do not have to be referred to a P&D Board as he suggests as the offences were against the Association and are not related to any dispute between individuals
Point 7
There was no mention of the last Raffle Mick advertised being run for a team of five people. This is irrelevant anyway. Advice from the Department of Racing and Gaming is that raffles run to meet personal expenses are illegal as they are conducted for personal gain.
Mr. Van Kampen then says everything he did was caused by members of the Committee not communicating, what an absolute load of …. He ran raffles without approval, manipulated the books and took money for personal gain. He thoroughly deserves everything he got.
Point 8
Completely irrelevant
Point 9
Refusing to give Oscar Hogarth a trophy for being a junior competing against seniors, How pathetic! This was an encouragement award for a kid. The same thing was done for Jack Amos the previous year even though Van Kampen said it was not
Point 10
This is just another example of Mr. Van Kampen ignoring the Committee. He was sent notice of his full suspension which included coaching juniors and on the same day the A/President sent a notice that junior coaching was cancelled and would resume after the School Holidays. The following day Mr. Van Kampen sent a text to the parents telling them to ignore the A/Presidents text as it was internal politics. More dishonesty and complete disrespect for due process.
Point 11
John Nestoridis made an umpiring error (Well, according to Van Kampen he did) and this is the fault of three Committee members who were watching the game. An absolute fairy story, perhaps these people started the war in the Ukraine as well and forced petrol prices up.
Point 12
Van Kampen attacks me personally for not helping out with junior coaching. I do not hold a working with children card and legally I couldn’t help if anyone asked me to. He was offered help by two suitably qualified people and rejected it. Another breach of the conditions that were set for him to continue coaching
Point13
Another attack on me.
Point 14
Another complete misrepresentation of the facts. This has been covered in minutes and isn’t worth me wasting any keystrokes.
Summary
Mick Van Kampen has proved himself to be a dishonest and incompetent Treasurer. He has admitted offences to the full Committee and has continued to act in a disrespectful manner. He thoroughly deserves the penalty he has been given.
