Sports Comment: Lacy's Legacy?

Alex Lacy, York Sport President

Tuesday evening saw the first York Sport Forum, the new alias of an AU general meeting. York Sport president Alex Lacy gathered representatives from the University’s sports clubs to vote on four motions: a new York Sport logo design, the uniformity of this logo and York Sport’s black and gold colours on all clubs’ kits, universal York Sport sponsorship, and finally a vote on the constitution.

Although the agenda seemed to change haphazardly, the meeting brought up some controversial subjects that Lacy struggled to deal with; often acting very defensively when any opposing opinion was expressed.

The meeting established one clear message for Lacy: clubs do not wish to be a part of a uniform York Sport behemoth that will prove costly in the transient stages.

Lacy put the poor turn-out – 24 of 57 clubs were present – down to problems with the YUSU mailing system. Nonetheless, the larger clubs were almost exclusively in attendance; Basketball, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, Netball, Rowing and Rugby were all eager to use their vote.

However, the lack of other clubs meant the vote on the constitution and the universal kits was left for another day. Lacy appeared hesitant to push through the more contentious reforms without the numerical backing of the smaller clubs. Despite these adjustments to the agenda, debate was still rife about the machinations of such proposals.

The unveiling of the new logo was nothing more than a disappointment. It resembles an LAPD badge rather than a university’s sport emblem. Nonetheless, changing the old UYAU badge to this was passed through almost unanimously, with only two clubs abstaining.

The next motion, the compulsory donning of this logo on every kit which must be black and gold, ignited animated debate among the clubs and some presidents didn't need to be asked twice when offered the opportunity to express their concerns.

Lacy’s defence – teams that “come out in the same kit look more professional and get better results” – raised more than a few eyebrows as presidents argued that the excessive costs of replacing their kits could be better spent elsewhere.

Teams in the same kit... get better results
Lacy's theory on how a university wide colour scheme would benefit clubs

Questions were asked regarding why the new branding would not say University of York anywhere on the kit. The York Sport president defended his brand saying: “It’s the SU that organises university sport. The University does nothing”.

This caused uproar as the clubs pledged their allegiance to their university rather than an administrative institution. A point summed up by the football club’s secretary Tam Sherif: “We play football for the University of York, not York Sport”.

As with many issues during the evening he eventually gave in to the vocal opposition and conceded that sporting the new logo would not be compulsory.

In a similar vein, after a further 10 minutes debating the pros and cons of universal black and gold colours, Lacy agreed clubs could opt out of this, rendering a vote useless, and proving that in Lacy’s case; the gentleman is for turning.

The last motion lay in the Lacy vision of a York Sport sponsor that would be universally applicable to clubs.The sponsorship would fill the void for many smaller clubs which fail to get funding through this means but would also “top up” existing club deals, as long as their incumbent sponsor did not conflict with York Sport’s choice.

Again, this wholesale measure was quickly complemented by a new opt out clause, as concerns over existing rolling sponsorship deals were voiced.

Lacy must realise that whilst this idea has potential, it won't bare fruit for several years yet as clubs take a while to replace old kits. If he had introduced this sponsorship motion earlier and this had been seen as the prime reason for the whole re-branding, then clubs would likely have been more accepting, rather than seeing these changes as mere authoritarianism from a President keen to exercise his power.

Throughout the meeting Lacy appeared shocked at the amount of fervent opposition among a wide cross section of clubs. He had to make various concessions as motions became more discursive than elective, often being delayed to future meetings where the President hoped “we can discuss it like adults”.

In the long run it may be the case that university teams wearing the same coloured kits, with matching logos, expressing a more cohesive brand of university sport would attract greater sponsorship for York Sport as a whole, particularly benefiting smaller clubs.

However, the transitional process would take years and Lacy’s biggest doubters, the larger sports clubs, seem confident in their own enterprise and ability to raise sponsorship.

It appears that there had been little consultation with club presidents about the motions, and it was fortunate that not enough representatives turned out so that a vote can be properly considered and conducted at a later date.

Lacy must understand that clubs essentially have no loyalty to York Sport, it is only an administrative means to coordinate their participation.

Having discussed the matter further with various club presidents after the meeting, The Yorker understands that their loyalty lies in representing their clubs and their university, and this should be represented in their logo and their kit.

Their disagreement is not based merely on aesthetics, but on their wish to wear with pride the university or club emblem that they identify with, regardless of what another club one mile across campus is wearing.

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