British Ski and Snowboard (BSS) announced today that they have dismissed the Chair of the Alpine, Speed and Telemark committee, Malcolm Erskine, on the grounds of gross and persistent misconduct in breach of British Ski and Snowboard's published Code of Conduct. ...Â
British Ski and Snowboard's decision was based upon information brought to the attention of the BSS Board following Mr Erskine's official appointment as Chair of the Alpine, Speed and Telemark Committee on 12th June 2014.
On 13th June 2014 Mr Erskine was thought to have been in breach of the BSS Code of Conduct following inappropriate and insulting comments made in an email to a senior team member at the British Olympic Association (BOA). The Chief Executive of the BOA complained about the email and the matter was discussed by the BSS CEO, Chairman and Independent Directors of BSS. On 16th June 2014 Mr Erskine was notified of the complaint from the BOA and of BSS's concerns about a potential breach of the BSS Code of Conduct. He was invited to attend a meeting with the Chairman of BSS to discuss the matter and was urged to apologise to the BOA and the staff member concerned. Mr Erskine failed to agree to meet and appeared to create further tension between BSS and the BOA by creating an article which was published on the Racer Ready website on 17th June. This article included further insults and highly inappropriate comments about BOA staff and their relationship with BSS. This article can be viewed here: http://racer-ready.co.uk/2014/06/17/a-storm-in-a-coffee-cup-fighting-for-the-future-of-the-sport/ . The Chairman of BSS again asked to meet with Mr Erskine to discuss the matter. No response was received from Mr Erskine.
This series of events led to a BSS Board meeting on 27th June attended by all current Board members and Home Nations observers with the exception of Mr Bartelski. At the meeting it was unanimously agreed that Mr Erskine had committed a number of serious breaches to the BSS Code of Conduct and committed gross misconduct in relation to the article published on Racer Ready. The BSS Board agreed unanimously that the persistent nature of his breaches of the BSS Code of Conduct and gross misconduct in the preparation of an insulting and inappropriate press article meant that Mr Erskine was not a fit candidate to hold the position of an Official within BSS.
Mr Erskine has been dismissed from his position as Chair of the Alpine, Speed and Telemark Committee with immediate effect and will not be invited to join the Board of the Company. BSS will commence a search for a new candidate for this position immediately. This matter has been discussed with our key partners.
The position of Chairman of the Alpine, Speed and Telemark Committee will be temporarily be covered by Mr Adrian Pery (current vice Chair of the Committee).
BSS will make an announcement on the process for electing a new Chair for the Alpine Speed and Telemark Committee in the next seven days with an intent to see a new candidate elected before the Company's Annual General Meeting in early September.
BSS Press Release
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