It is now almost a year since former Olympic coach Derry O'Rourke was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing young swimmers, five years since another former Olympic coach, George Gibney, fled the country accused of similar crimes and three years since a vice-president of the association, Frank McCann, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and a young girl. This is the backdrop to tomorrow's historic meeting of the Irish Amateur Swimming Association (IASA).

The organisation is proposing to shed its skin and transform itself from the IASA to Swim Ireland within the course of tomorrow's proceedings. It is hoped the new organisation will be a more child-riendly, open and transparent body and will finally move out of the shadows cast by Gibney, O'Rourke and McCann.

The chances of the process happening smoothly are, however, remote. Not only will some delegates assert that they have been disenfranchised because their clubs failed to hold annual general meetings as required but also the parent and victim group will claim that the proposed new organisation has already failed them. They requested a platform at the meeting to address the delegates and they were refused. A small gesture that would have meant much.

The ad hoc group of victims, who number around 12 girls and their families, claim the IASA has done little despite the recommendations laid down in the Murphy Report published last June. They say the Murphy principles are being ignored despite public assurances that the association would follow them closely. They point out clear breaches.

Murphy states (page 134, par 2.10): "A Child Protection Officer as proposed by the IASA should be appointed as a matter of urgency." No one has yet been appointed despite an offer to do the job last summer from Felicity Heathcoate, currently psychologist to the Olympic Council of Ireland. Heathcoate's offer was refused by the IASA.

Murphy states (chapter 12, par 1.8): "Victims should be afforded counselling and therapy and should be encouraged to avail of these services." No effort has yet been made to even establish who the victims are. Any counselling has been conducted at the expense of the victims.

Murphy states (chapter 12, par 4.1): "Coaches should not be committee members of their club nor be delegates to their Branch or to the IASA." Almost half of the nominations to positions in the new body are from coaches.

There are an estimated 22 civil cases hanging over the organisation involving individuals, clubs, branches and the association. It has no funding other than the £30,000 recently released by the Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr Jim McDaid, and no sponsorship. So concerned were officials in the Ulster Branch about the money situation that they met on July 22nd, 1998, to discuss how they would hide over £200,000 they had in a Belfast account. They were worried that the IASA would come looking for a slice.

That attitude has firmed up the feelings within the sport that the perception from outside Dublin is that the "swimming problem" is a Leinster one, which is inaccurate given the spread of the victims, from Dublin, Cork and Belfast. Furthermore the victim group perceive the organisation as one that has not changed its ethos sufficiently. They are also angry that a scandal of such magnitude has not precipitated one significant resignation.

But whether on Monday we still have the old IASA or the new Swim Ireland, the controversies have not yet died away. There are more allegations against O'Rourke, which he will have to face and there are fresh allegations against Gibney, who is now in America. There were also allegations made against two unnamed coaches in the Murphy report and it is unknown whether or not they are being pursued by the gardai. That alone keeps the issues alive and the victims anxious regardless of what happens in the Ashling Hotel tomorrow.