Editorial: Dumping decision no Magic solution

"Baffling'' is the word which comes to mind when looking at what is happening at the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic.

The 2012 season should be a time of celebration for the franchise, after becoming the first New Zealand team to secure the ANZ Championship _ the board now finds itself unpopular with its netball centres in the Bay of Plenty, after Sheryl Dawson was dumped as chief executive.

Dawson had to re-apply for the top job after a new governing body, the Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone, was established recently. Dawson, who has been involved with the Magic since 2002, missed out on the position and was replaced by Aucklander Tim Hamilton.

The crucial role Dawson played in guiding the franchise was rewarded with the Tauranga Excellence in Business Leadership Award for 2012. But she failed to even make the final short list for the new role.

The fallout from her axing has seen two members of the board resign in the wake of Dawson's exit. Netball Bay of Plenty chairwoman Paula Thompson and Magic director Shirley Baker are on the record as being "gobsmacked'' and can't see the logic behind the move to not only remove Dawson but for her to not even make the final short list.

Netball New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle described the selection process as ``open'', but to this sports hack it reminds me of a dictator calling for an election but then counting the votes himself and declaring himself the winner.

According to Thompson, the board members were asked to rank five candidates on a score sheet. The sheets were taken by Netball New Zealand representative Jeremy Curragh to another room, tallied, and then he returned to tell the board who the top two candidates were, which didn't include Dawson.

The final shortlist decision was then left up to Magic board chairman John Wiltshire, a Hamilton-based sports lawyer, Castle, and Sport New Zealand's Auckland-based relationship manager, who ironically Wiltshire was unable to recall.

It is easy to understand, especially when it comes to sport and business, if someone isn't performing, you either bench them or sack them.

However, in this instance, I can't see the logic. Would you drop Richie McCaw after he led his team to a World Cup victory?

Perhaps, Bill Gates should be stood down from his position because Microsoft is too successful.

All in all it is the grassroots level who suffer in these instances, places like Kawerau or Opotiki, who are understood to be "devastated'' by the decision. They can only stand back and watch while those who are supposed to know continue making decisions which defy logic to the everyday person.