OUT OF
THE BOX
By Norrie Williamson
TIME TO RESTRUCTURE ( PART 2 )
Last month I began talking about the need change the structure of our sport , and here I continue the topic , with some specific examples of restructuring that I think will help us move forward .
These days the social media pages are often filled with South African runners complaining about various aspects of our sport , such as access to online entries and early closure of entries , or the need to wear four numbers in a race . It ’ s easy to complain about these issues , and the social media armchair experts – yes , myself included – try to solve the problems , but I believe we are debating the symptoms , not the problem .
Image : Tobias Ginsberg & Jetline Action Photo
These issues are often just the ‘ irritations ’ of an outdated view and structure that was born of an era of amateurism in the 1960s , and has not changed in more than 50 years , apart from a small restructure ( but a bigger rewrite of the constitution ) in 1992 to 1994 to cater for unification . Technology , communication and attitudes have moved on , and the sport is open to both commercialism and professionalism . As a result , the structure of the sport has already been amended many times to accommodate the changes that have occurred in the past half century , but now I believe it ’ s time to redesign and evolve something that fits the social and technological environment of 2020 and beyond .
ERA OF COMMUNICATION
In the past two years , ASA has investigated how to accommodate professional / commercial and virtual clubs into the current system , but the ( now extended ) working group continues to struggle to find a means of marrying the amateur and professional philosophies . Another problem is that the current structure is based on a pyramid , with representation the basic means of communication . Club members elect a chairman to take their views to a provincial landscape of say 200 clubs . These 200 club chairs elect a provincial president to represent 40,000 members at national level , along with 18 other presidents . Those 19 presidents elect a national president who is supposed to guide and look after the interests of the 120,000 registered athletes , coaches , officials and administrators – but sitting on the peak of the pyramid , one can ’ t see or hear the majority of those 120,000 members .
Such a structure may have made sense in times when it was impossible and impractical to have direct contact and communication with each member , but this is not the case today , with websites and direct chat , mail and message access via electronic databases . So in 2019 there is no logical reason that each member should not receive direct communication from the province and national office . Only two things prevent this : First , the reliance on voluntary administration , which means many clubs , and some provinces , are unable to handle the workload of capturing this information on a yearly basis , and secondly , trying to do this all at the one universal time that the nation is on holiday !
FOCUS ON THE PRODUCT
Make no mistake , we have probably the best and most complete club structure in the world , and it has served us well on many counts , so we need to retain the benefits and strengths of the club structure , while changing the focus from the administration and support , to the sustainable production of participation and performance . In that sense , I believe we need to start with the products of athletics , then work backwards to define the support and resources , and then only the administrative structure required to deliver the best possible product . That would be a dramatic turn around compared to the current structure , where the focus has been to put administration ( including the constitution ) in place before looking at how to develop the optimum products .
A key premise to this will be changing the focus to delivering performance ( improvement ) and making room to accommodate both professional and elite goals , but also giving attention to the needs of those who wish to have the enjoyment , social interaction and personal goal-breaking opportunities of mass participation .
We also need to recognise that for commerce to invest in the sport , it is essential that they are able to gain a return at least equal to their investment . They also need to feel confident that the implementation of their agreement will be on a professional level , so the organisation must have unquestionable integrity and credibility . That requires strict adherence to rules , with predictable , transparent and credible actions . At the same time , adherence to the constitution , and the intent of rules , must cease to be something people are attacked for on social media , or expected to apologise for !
TIME FOR CHANGE
This change of focus will , I believe , allow us to tackle practical issues such as ensuring the administrative structure feeds the sport , promoting communication throughout the membership , ensuring commerce is integrated into the sport to benefit both the companies and the sport , and growing mass participation while also supporting the elites . That way the sport will become fully sustainable .
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 ultramarathon medals . You can read more from him at www . coachnorrie . co . za .
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