Shane Hurndell
Prominent Hawke's Bay businessman and Cook Strait conqueror Pat Benson has resigned from the Heretaunga Charitable Swimming Trust in protest at the sacking of head coach Jon Winter.
Olympian Winter, 33, was told last week his contract with the Trust would end on May 24.
He has been advised by his
lawyer not to speak to the media on the matter and still has hopes of being reinstated.
Benson, the managing director of Napier Computer Systems, has three children who are coached by Winter and swim for his Primo Sundevils team.
He has been a member of the trust's board since it was formed in 1998.
"I'm disappointed in the way Jon has been treated and I want to support him as much as possible. I'll let Jon concentrate on being reinstated and I'll focus on securing him lane and pool space for his swimmers in case he isn't reinstated." Benson said.
Hawke's Bay Today has been inundated with letters of support for Winter from parents of his swimmers. They were disappointed that the trustees made the decision to sack Winter without first consulting parents or attempting to resolve what, "on the face of it, appear to be minor employment issues".
The parents have also called for the Hastings District Council to become involved in the dispute as the council helps fund the trust.
Earlier this week calls related to the issue dominated one of the Radio Sport talkback sessions.
Winter raced at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Manchester in 2002. He has been based in Hawke's Bay since 1999.
During the past two years Winter has had various Swimming New Zealand coaching positions, including one at the January Youth Olympics in Sydney.
He is on the coaching staff for the New Zealand under-17 team which travels to Australia during June and July. Last week Winter's team finished second to a North Shore team dominated by New Zealand Olympic stars in the battle for the top club trophy at the national championships in Wellington.
Trust chairman Russell Collins could not be reached for comment yesterday. He has been reluctant to comment other than to point out the sacking related to "private employment issues."
* Dannevirke swimmer travels 1000km a week to train with Winter - page 19.
