Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 122, September 2019 | Page 36

OPINION
That is where I saw the blatant manipulation that
goes on, despite the fair selection standards. We
had some sprint coaches as selectors who had long
arguments as to why their own athletes should be
selected, since they had to run into 0.5m/s winds at
Stadium X and would have qualified otherwise. Of
course, when they discussed distance runners, the
effect of the 0.5m/s over 25 laps suddenly became
irrelevant. And they would win their case if there
were other selectors who also wanted to push their
athletes into the team, and thus supported each
other. I once walked out of a selectors meeting when
I opposed what was going on, and they then tried
to bribe me by offering to put one of my athletes in
the team. Then we have the issue of managers and coaches for
provincial teams. Initially, managers were appointed
for teams based on their ability to assist the athletes.
They were good at logistics, or were experienced
coaches or former athletes. Teams travelled for only a
couple of days, so team coaches were not essential,
but useful for athletes in technical events. More
recently, a recommendation for being a provincial
team manager is to be the provincial president’s
wife, or to be a member of some provincial structure,
regardless of experience. And team coaches are
taken along to do no-one knows what. A common
motivation is for them to gain experience! Surely
the athletes need assistance from someone who
has experience... unless it is not actually about the
athletes.
When I had to sign off teams I often raised queries
as to why one athlete was left out and another was
included. I knew the answer was usually that the
included athlete had a coach who was a selector,
while the other did not. Every time, the selectors then
came back with a team that included both. Once I
was told that an athlete who was way short of the
standard had to be included, to complete a relay
team. The rest of the team was strong, so I agreed,
but only on the basis that the athlete in question only
ran the relay. I was at the National Championships
and in the heats I saw this athlete running the
individual race. I was furious, and cornered the head
of selectors, who was his coach, and asked what
was going on. Oh, I was told, the relay team had to
withdraw because one of the athletes was an 800m
runner, and the 800m final was too close to the
4x400m final, so they just decided to put the athlete
in the individual 400m. It turned out this decision had
already been made well before the team left home,
and they forgot to notify me! The athlete was knocked
out in the first round… 3. Commercial Value of Provincial Teams
Other than the unfair selections and the freeloaders,
the biggest problem with provincial teams is that the
performance of the team means nothing to anyone,
beyond the immediate aftermath of the team returning
home. The administrators pat themselves on the
back for medals won, even though it was the athlete
who won the medal, assisted by their immediate
support team. The athlete gains nothing, other than
maybe getting provincial colours (if the administrators
remember – I know of one case where they forgot
their athletes had won medals), and the support team
even less.
The reason for this is that provincial teams have no
commercial value. An athlete joins a club and runs in
the club’s colours throughout the year. If they do well,
the club gets exposure. That exposure can attract
sponsorships for the club, and with that, the club can
pay the athlete. Everyone wins. But with provincial
teams, the athlete competes once in the provincial
Have Your Say
colours, often at an obscure event or venue without
any coverage. The province also cannot guarantee
to a sponsor that their top athletes will compete –
injuries and other commitments may prevent it – so
sponsors are reluctant to sponsor provincial teams,
because the return on investment in terms of brand
exposure (especially for one or two races a year) is
negligible.
Emperors in Charge
In summary, the current provincial structure of South
African athletics does not reflect the geopolitical
reality of South Africa. It reflects a bygone age and
serves no purpose, other than to retain positions for a
few administrators. Unfortunately, the ‘emperors’ who
run the different regional federations are seemingly
entrenched for life, and will not easily give up their
imperial thrones. Also, since the regional federations
elect the ASA board, and the ASA board is mostly
made up of regional presidents, why would they
want to change the system? Because if there were
52 different athletics federations falling under nine
provinces, how could they be relied upon to vote for
the ‘right’ people?
The Sports Indaba in 2011 took a decision to
change sports boundaries to the geo-political
boundaries in South Africa. The response from
these ‘provincial emperors’ to a proposal to change
the ASA Constitution, to bring it in line with that
decision, was immediate and vicious. They had to
entrench themselves quickly to prevent it happening.
Meanwhile, the government has proven to be too
weak when it comes to enforcing the Sports Indaba
decision, and until it does, the sport will suffer from
a lack of funding, and participation will continue
to shrink whilst being centred on the metropolitan
areas.
le and long distance
nce Athletics, and is an active midd
dent of ASA and of Western Provi
Presi
er
form
the
is
at Modern Athlete,
s,
team
Evan
s
rial
Jame
of the edito
The author of this piece,
and may not coincide with those
ssed in this opinion piece are his,
nathlete.co.za.
expre
oder
views
rs@m
The
.
lette
to
Cape
ents
the
in
d
comm
base
ing
coach
by send
welcome to respond to this piece
are
rs
reade
All
te.
deba
late
and are printed here to stimu
Stephen Mokoka wins the 2018 SA Half Marathon Champs title in the
colours of Gauteng North. The major metropolitan ‘provinces’ tend to
dominate at National Champs level
36
ISSUE 122 SEPTEMBER 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za