Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 108, July 2018 | Page 26

OUT OF
THE By BOX
Norrie Williamson
INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS
AND CONTENDERS
One of the biggest controversies in athletics since South Africa’s return to the international arena is our local approach to
accepting foreign runners into our competitions, and our own participation as individuals in foreign events.
Foreign runners are a common
sight in the big SA races these days
In short, rule 4.2 applies to SA runners going overseas, not for foreign runners
coming to compete in SA. Generally, therefore, under IAAF rules, there should not
be a problem at elite level for incoming athletes to enter a race in South Africa. That
accounts for runners who are members of affiliated clubs or directly affiliated to
their national federation.
DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY
However, this is the challenge, as the structure of athletics, and road running in
particular, evolved differently in SA as a result of the running boom of the 1970’s,
80’s and 90’s and SA’s sporting isolation. This country has one of the strongest
club structures in the world, mainly because runners are required to be club
members, and hence affiliated to ASA, in order to run road races. In most other
countries, the tendency has been for such membership to apply only to the very
elite road runners, although anyone participating in track and field will tend to have
a club connection, which then links to the federation.
Most foreign road runners simply enter any road event they wish, and while they
may pay slightly more in some countries as unattached athletes, it is irrelevant in
m