OUT OF
THE BOX
By Norrie Williamson
TIME TO RESTRUCTURE ( PART 1 )
Recent rule challenges at two SA Championship events as well as at prestigious races have highlighted a need to question if the structure of our sport is still relevant . I believe it is time for a rethink .
The roots of our club system are based on an amateur club structure established in the UK in the 1960s . It is an excellent system that became extremely strong through the years of isolation , and the clubs have been primarily responsible for the growth of races and of the sport in South Africa . No other country , to my knowledge , can boast such a strong club structure .
Later , the innovation of year-round license numbers saved race organisers ( in most cases , the clubs ) from having to print and pay for numbers , and their use front and back is in line with IAAF rules . Commercial sponsorship of these numbers commenced as far back as the mid-1970s , with Sanlam , Nedbank , Old Mutual , Lotto and others buying the rights for the license number branding . Race numbers were also commercialised , with the Comrades numbers originally being sponsored by Pepsi .
The introduction of age category tags was another world-leading innovation , as was the introduction in the 1980s of a temporary license system , designed to allow people to ‘ taste ’ the sport without committing to a club . This was a ‘ day pass ’ and provided further growth . The combination of all these factors led , and continues in many ways to lead the athletics world , and the standard of race organisation in South Africa is generally much better than in many other countries .
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Prize money entered the picture in the 1980s , but was limited to R500 , with only permit races allowed to offer more . In the 1990s , as the country started to gain more international sporting access , corporate sponsorship saw the introduction of club branding and retainers for top athletes . This prompted ASA to negotiate with the IAAF for a relaxation on the kit advertising rules for domestic events in South Africa only . Meanwhile , prize money started to soar upwards at the major events , but in real terms was still a fraction of international prize purses due to unfavourable exchange rates . The mid 1990s to early 2000s then saw massive steps forward in technology , including online entries , chip timing , easily managed databases , and small portable computing .
While all of these have impacted on the way large events have been organised , and the rewards for top performers , the opening into international competition , a reduction in media coverage of local sport ( in favour of previously restricted international sport ), a wider selection of mass participation sports ( including triathlon , trail running , cycling , etc ) has made local sponsorship of athletics less appealing at club level for medium and small events . And little has changed for the rural clubs . As with the country , the gap between the top and low end has simply grown apart , and yet the talent potential for the future ironically exists in greater numbers at the lower end of the scale .
Clearly things have substantially changed from the 1960s to 2017 , but the founding structure has remained the same . To date , the ASA rules have been amended to try to fit these massive changes while working within a 50-year-old structure , when mobile phones , e-mails , chip timing had never been foreseen , and professionalism was banned . It ’ s equivalent to the little Dutch boy attempting to prevent a flood by putting his finger in a hole in a dam wall . The problem is that after 50 years , the changes exceed the number of available fingers , and that wall looks like it could break . Some say it already has …
NEW IDEAS NEEDED
I believe that a new structure is required , one that keeps the strength of the club structure and the concept of licensing but allows for the diversity of events from small rural races to mass city events . Also , a structure that promotes and rewards professionalism and elite performance , that attracts commercial investment and media coverage of the sport , and ensures the sport ’ s credibility and integrity .
Furthermore , I believe that once a new competitive structure is determined , it will automatically imply the need for a total rewrite of the rules , so as to utilise all the new technology , and allow the sport to be professionally administered and officiated .
Now I doubt any one person has all the answers , but I have given some thought to a potential starting point of this restructuring , which I will share in my next column . That said , I am patently aware it requires further discussion , input , modification and detail , or could even be dismissed completely for a better option . I therefore hope it will at least stimulate thought and debate , and hopefully by all working together we can arrive at a plan to take our great sport forward .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR : Norrie has represented Scotland , Great Britain and later his adopted South Africa in ultra-distance running and triathlon . He is an IAAF-accredited coach and course measurer , has authored two books on running , and counts 21 Comrades medals amongst his more than 150 ultra-marathon medals . You can read more from him at www . coachnorrie . co . za .
Images : Jetline Action Photo & Shawn Benjamin / Ark Images
24 ISSUE 100 NOVEMBER 2017 / www . modernathlete . co . za