Cycling NZ ordered to pay athlete $15,000 in costs following Olympic selection dispute

Tuesday, 1 October 2024, 8:02 pm
Article: RNZ

Dana Johannsen, Sports Correspondent

Cycling NZ has been ordered to pay Sammie Maxwell $15,000 in costs after the Sports Tribunal earlier found there were "serious breaches in natural justice" in the national body's handling of the young mountain biker's Olympic selection.

The tribunal in July upheld Maxwell's appeal over her non-nomination for the Paris Games, and took the rare step of nominating the 23 year-old directly to the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) for selection.

Despite the last minute legal wrangling, Maxwell went on to finish eighth in Paris - the best finish of her senior career.

This week, the case took one last extraordinary turn when the tribunal made a substantial cost award in favour of Maxwell.

Maxwell, represented by Christchurch lawyer Ian Hunt, successfully argued Cycling NZ had greater resources and it was unfair that she should have to foot a substantial legal bill for what the tribunal found to be an "erroneous decision".

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Cycling NZ was ordered to pay $15,000 towards Maxwell's legal expenses, which totalled $31,000.

Traditionally the tribunal does not make awards of costs, and when it does, the awards tend to be modest. However the tribunal panel, led by chair John Macdonald, determined Maxwell's case was "exceptional".

In its written decision, the tribunal noted that the decision should not be viewed as a precedent or "an opening of the floodgates for successful parties to make applications for substantial awards of costs.

"This decision is based on the exceptional circumstances of this particular case. It might, however, serve as a reminder to [national sports organisations] to ensure that nomination and selection processes are fair and reasonable."

Cycling NZ had opposed Maxwell's costs application, arguing the tribunal did not have the jurisdiction to hear the issue.

The national body's position was backed by the NZOC, which made submissions as an "interested party" in the case - a move that drew a mild rebuke from the tribunal.

"Given that the tribunal concluded in unequivocal terms that Ms Maxwell had been the victim of an unfair and unreasonable selection process the tribunal is surprised that rather than maintaining a neutral position, the NZOC has elected to become involved in the costs application and to side with [Cycling NZ]."

An unwitting case study

The decision brings to an end an "incredibly complex" case, which was closely followed across the high performance sector.

Cycling NZ declined to nominate Maxwell for this year's Games for health, rather than performance reasons.

Maxwell, the reigning under-23 world champion, has openly battled with eating disorders since she was a teen. The national body determined she had not shown that she had no "physical or mental impairment" that would prevent her from performing to the highest possible standard at the Olympics.

Maxwell appealed the decision, in the process becoming an unwitting case study in a wider sporting discussion about how sports bodies balance their duty of care to athletes, without removing their individual autonomy.

The 22-year-old won her appeal after the tribunal ruled Cycling NZ had relied on inaccurate and out-of-date medical information in arriving at its decision.

The tribunal was also concerned Cycling NZ had taken a discriminatory position towards athletes with eating disorders.

After her eighth-placed finish in Paris, Maxwell told RNZ said she had no regrets about the case and details of her personal health battles playing out in public.

"I guess the worst part about having to go through that process was more the uncertainty of whether I would be here and the amount of time it took.

"I wasn't worried about it [being public]. I've always been super open about my eating disorders in the past and I'm almost glad that it was brought to attention just because I think every sporting organisation can maybe learn something from it."

Maxwell hoped her situation may encourage other young athletes facing similar battles with disordered eating to disclose their issues to their sports bodies and work with medical staff towards a treatment plan.

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