It was no medals ( again ) for South Africa at the 2023 World Champs in Budapest
ASK YOURSELF WHY
C o l u m n
Images : Christian Petersen / Getty Images , Stephen Pond / Getty Images
It ’ s not the people , but the structure that holds the sport back . All too often , the current system elects people into positions with mandates that they are not necessarily sufficiently experienced and / or knowledgeable to undertake in a professional world . As a result , the sport ’ s administration has not been sufficiently commercialised for the national and provincial offices to be adequately resourced to implement and support the sport properly . These offices all too often either have the correct number of staff , but with insufficient skills and experience , or they have insufficient staff with the necessary skills and experience .
The same principle of amateur and voluntary elected structures governs each running province , with well-intended people being placed into inappropriate positions . Indeed , most of those elected at a national level also have voluntary commitments at provincial level , while the mandates and roles associated with each of these portfolios are complex and numerous . It wasn ’ t that way when the structure was initiated in the 1960s and 70s , but the world and requirements have moved on , which has overwhelmed the structure , resulting in stagnation . The lack of progression is not for the lack of willingness to work , or of good intent , it is due to the lack of resources , a bureaucratic and inappropriate decision-making structure , and a serious shortage of time .
Institutional Inefficiency
Additionally , the structure doesn ’ t facilitate succession of either knowledge or innovation , as many of the committees , commissions and positions are sustained in a revolving door scenario . Despite the advances in communication technology , there is little if any direct debate or forums for the athletes or members .
For example , the athlete to club to province to national office line of communication is being maintained , where a restructuring and use of modern communication practices could easily streamline administration , freeing up staff for other implementation . This slow hierarchy of communication was evolved before the fax machine , or mobile phone , or WhatsApp , or Zoom calls , which remove many distance and time boundaries . The competition in athletics has moved on , whereas the very administration responsible for supporting it has stagnated .
To give you another example , I feel that the issues and failures experienced by both the Comrades and Two Oceans events in recent years are a similar challenge , showing that elections cannot be assured of providing a board filled with suitably skilled and experienced members , as was envisaged at their inception in the 1980s or 90s . It ’ s therefore little wonder that fulltime staff could be frustrated at having to wait for board decisions , or end up dictating to their boards , in order to facilitate and meet timelines . Similarly , many elected clubs officials have little exposure to the mass participation eventing industry , even if they have some club level organisational experience .
These and many other challenges were immediately addressed when Seb Coe became President of World Athletics in 2015 and introduced a new structure that reduced commissions and committees , and focused on implementation and delivery to the athletes . It also maximised commercialisation to the benefit of the sponsors , media and athletes alike . ( That is why you now see legal personal sponsorships displayed on athletes ’ vests , for example .)
Restructuring the Sport
The bottom line is that in South African athletics , the cracks that have been showing across all aspects of the sport can largely be attributed to outdated structures . A new structure is needed , but it is vital that the strengths of the existing structure are maintained . After all , our structure of members , clubs and provinces under a national federation is unique , and has long been the envy of many in the athletics world , but I think it now requires streamlining and restructuring , perhaps with the addition of districts and regions .
The sport ’ s policy , vision , direction and progression need a total revamp from the ground up , and this must be linked to the maximisation of commercial investment and return , with a delegation of decision-making to qualified , experienced people and the introduction of oversight measures to ensure the necessary checks and balances .
The combination of the new World Athletics model together with the ASA club and licensing club structure seems a reasonable starting point – and the universal license is key to funding , particularly in the country ’ s economic scenario – but the evolution must deliver a unique South African solution designed to take us forward . We cannot afford to slip behind in this fashion again .
The first step to achieving this is for the current ASA leadership to set up a working group to function as a mailbox for incoming proposals and suggestions , which they will discuss , then consult about with the different disciplines of the sport as well as with professionals from business and the eventing industry , and then create draft discussion documents that are made available to all licensed members . Once reasonable consensus has been achieved , the concept would then be put before council for adoption . ( In my opinion , this working group should include business and industry representatives , but should ideally not include people on the current athletic structures , as they are already overwhelmed by their mandates .)
It Can Be Done
This is a process that took World Athletics two years to complete , and a similar time span could be expected in South Africa , making the potential adoption at ASA ’ s 2025 AGM a feasible target . But it needs to be done , because as Einstein identified ( and Edison applied ), “ insanity is doing a task the same way and expecting a different outcome .” The sole reason for athletic federations is to govern the sport for the benefit of the athletes . I don ’ t think the current structure achieves that anymore , and unless we bring our structure into the 2020-2040 era , we can only expect our medal-less years to continue . The current problem is not with people , nor their intent or their commitment . The problem is with how these resources are structured and utilised .
About the Author
Norrie represented Scotland and Great Britain in numerous ultra-distance events , then represented South Africa in triathlon . He is a World Athleticsaccredited coach and course measurer , and travels all over the world to work on events , including the Olympics . He has been appointed by World Athletics as Technical Delegate to a number of the world ’ s leading Label events in Africa , Asia and the Middle East . He has authored two books ( Everyman ’ s Guide to Distance Running and Every Beginner ’ s Guide to Walking & Running ), and counts 20 Comrades medals amongst his more than 150 ultra-marathon medals , as well as multiple wins at distances from 100km to 1000km . You can read more from him at www . coachnorrie . co . za .
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