report ‘ offenders ’ to the SAPS . Importantly , this should be assisted through the Department of Sport , Recreation , Arts and Culture , whose regulations state clearly that it will only negotiate with federations and bodies recognised by the Ministry .
The bigger question here is whether these trailrunning , fun-running and commercial organisers are being recognised by the Ministry , and are they being given a different set of regulations that apparently allows them to hold events longer than 10km , and with different or less restrictions ? If so , then why can ’ t ASA be given the same relaxations , and why are we limited to 10km events ?
What Holds Clubs Back ?
While appreciating the desire by ASA to ensure safety and a progressive return to racing , the cancellation of events continues . Out of the many reasons given for cancellations , two commonly come up , with the first being that the current restrictions significantly reduce the financial viability of a race . Ironically , more than 20 % of the annual races around the country have less than 500 finishers anyway , so one would think those races would have come back onto the calendar as soon as the sport was reopened . However , the cost of setting up screening , temperature and social distancing is proving a challenge .
The Alberton Athletic Club was realistic about this with its event in early November , and thus had to charge R240 per runner for a 10km . Unsurprisingly this was perceived as being way too much by many in the running community , but it begs the question whether those runners appreciated the extra fencing , extra security , temperature checking , database development , signage , staff , sanitiser stations , masks and PPE , plus SMS instructions that needed to be in place . Also , with club tents and post-race facilities not allowed by the regulations , the ‘ loss ’ of post-race income from food and drink sales also had to be factored into the new race costs .
All of this can easily account for an additional R40,000 to R60,000 being added to the event budget , which is close to R100 per runner . And while that adds a high amount to normal 10km race entry costs , it would be more acceptable when incorporated into half marathon or marathon entry fees . Likewise , if the total number of runners allowed were increased , or two 500-runner events could be held on the same day , then the figures would be more viable . Thinking out of the box is very much needed with these COVID considerations .
Communication is Vital
The second principle reason for event cancellations is uncertainty , and lack of communication . The words COVID and communication need to be joined at the proverbial hip , as we will never be able to adapt , conquer or resolve the COVID situation without consistent , clear communication .
ASA states that a recent meeting of provincial
Are Entry Fees Reasonable ?
Since unification of the sport in the early 90s , athletics has been keenly focused on being accessible to the full diversity of South African society , with entry fees a consistent concern . I recently re-read a 1992 article that listed entry fees as being around the R15 to R30 mark , and running shoes going for between R190 and R300 . Today , shoes typically range from R2000 to R3500 , which represents an increase of roughly 10- to 12-fold . In contrast , entry fees for road races have not increased by the same ratio .
Relatively speaking , our perception of entry fees is already lagging behind , even without the added Disaster Management costs that have been introduced over the past quarter century , and now the COVID costs as well . This is exacerbated by the fact that few sponsors currently want to be involved in eventing , not simply because they are struggling financially , but also because they fear something goes wrong in these early events after reopening .
As more events come back and new processes are evolved , tested and proven sound , so sponsor confidence should return , and thus the importance of supporting these early events cannot be understated , which in turn should help bring the cost of entries down . presidents clarified that monthly reviews would consider relaxing regulation , and that December will hopefully see the first changes in allowable distances , entry numbers and refreshment tables . Not unreasonably , ASA wanted the first month of events ( November ) to get the sport to prove that races are not super-spreaders of the COVID infection , and just as importantly , that runners can be disciplined ! It also gave organisers an opportunity to learn new skills and processes , as even the most proficient organisers have zero experience of COVID regulations and their impacts until they do their first event .
The problem is that the provincial presidents have apparently failed to communicate this message to all the clubs or organisers , who have been left in the dark . So , it is no surprise that clubs and organisers are cancelling events that normally take place in the coming months , because they have no idea what they can even think of hosting in January , February or March , as regulations may or may not change .
ASA has asked for a ‘ wish list ’ of fixtures from all the provinces , but clubs and organisers are in the meantime still cancelling , as they aren ’ t getting the information , or even hope , of the basics regarding potential numbers , distances and requirements to turn their event into reality . It ’ s totally understandable that they call for cancellation rather than put their club resources at risk , but the impact will devastate our sport , and without action soon , the national and provincial athletic leadership will have nothing left to lead ! Few will argue that there has been little guidance or direction within our sport as to what is foreseen as a way forward . Whether that is simply poor communication , or a lack of foresight , can be debated , but that doesn ’ t help us progress .
Risk and Viral Management
Event organisers need to realise that COVID will not just go away and allow us to return to normal . Just as all airports , events and even whole countries still have full terrorism assessment in place long after the 9 / 11 attacks , so too is viral assessment for COVID here to stay . It is a new consistent that will be constantly monitored between Green ( go ), Yellow , Orange and Red ( lockdown ) levels , and we have to adapt to new ‘ protection .’
But events can and should come back . Around the world , many organisers are hosting events with 1000 to 5000 runners on a regular basis , with them being
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