Numer-crunching the Rules
Licensing Issues
The Rules of
By Norrie Williamson
Running
Running is said to be the simplest of sports , requiring only shoes , shorts , shirt and off we go . Anywhere we want at whatever speed , and on whatever terrain we wish ! And if everyone is honest and trustworthy , then we don ’ t even require rules and officials . As long as we have the same start and finish line , we can race ( except in exceptionally short and tight races ), as we would know amongst ourselves who won and lost . But this doesn ’ t give us any comparative performance until we set the distance , have a timekeeping system and a line judge for when it is too close for us athletes to call – and this is where the rules come in .
Athletic rules provide the process , structure and standard that ensure performances are comparable around the world . In essence , there are five reasons for having rules :
• The health and safety of participants , officials and coaches .
• The health and safety of non-participants including spectators as well as those who may get caught up in the event , e . g . pedestrians or vehicle drivers in a road race .
• That no athlete has an unfair advantage over another .
• Administration , communication , promotion and marketing of the sport .
• Maintaining standards of performance , rankings and databases .
How long would rugby , soccer , hockey or netball players last in a game if they didn ’ t know the rules ? Not more than a few minutes , I would guess …. So why is it that runners feel able to go into road running without learning the rules of the sport ?
The rules of athletics are covered by the IAAF ( International Association of Athletic Federations ) and are contained in a 313-page handbook which is valid for two years at a time and has a total of 264 rules , each with a number of clauses . National Federations are allowed modifications to cater for local conditions and circumstances , and then in South Africa we have provincial rules for the same reason . For example the IAAF requires refreshment in a road race at 5km intervals , whereas ASA requires 3km intervals , and the KZN rules require 2.5km intervals due to the humidity there . National and Provincial rules can be more restrictive , but not less restrictive than the IAAF .
Numer-crunching the Rules
The massive number of IAAF rules is thanks largely to attempts to cheat or bypass standard procedure . This is clearly highlighted by the fact that there are 85 pages concerning doping , nine new pages purely on disputes and discipline , and 30 pages explaining the roles and requirements for 32 different types of officials across all disciplines . Compare that to a total of just 30 pages for all track events , including technical details such as hurdle heights and positioning , and only an additional five for race walking , four for road running , and seven for cross country and trail running . Even explaining the rules , equipment and procedures for seven complex field events takes 60 pages – just two thirds the number required to prevent cheating and discipline those athletes wishing to gain an unfair advantage .
The challenge is therefore not the sport , but rather those who seek to undermine it and you would be surprised at how many runners cheat the system , including some well known sporting personalities . Take what appears to be a simple act of giving someone your timing chip , or your race number for an event like Two Oceans ( without going through the substitution process ). It may seem innocent enough , but how many rules does it break ? Clearly , the result will be incorrectly allocated to the original entrant , and will that performance then be used for an entry / seeding at another event ? What happens if it affects the age prizes ? Such things ruin the credibility of the results and devalue the real achievement of honest runners .
Keep in mind it ’ s two runners who have cheated in such a case , the one who gave the number and the one who received . This can also be downright dangerous , as the Two Oceans organisers found out a few years ago , when an overseas runner passed on his number . The recipient collapsed and passed away , and the subsequent medical and administrative actions were based on the details of the original runner , which saw his parents being called internationally to be told of the passing of their son . Luckily the son was watching the streaming of the race with his parents , so they were spared the trauma , but that was when the cheating was identified . Had the other athlete been unconscious instead of passing away , he would have been treated based on incorrect medical files .
Licensing Issues
Another rule that has generated considerable comment and emotion is the recent ASA ruling on the display of race and license numbers . Many runners do not seem to appreciate that a sponsor may be putting millions in to have the exposure of its name on every athlete , so with the plethora of race numbers being issued by events , the sponsor was not getting the exposure it paid for . In addition , a percentage of runners were ‘ free-loading ’ by sharing licence numbers . These cheats therefore forced an
Images : Moegsien Ebrahim & courtesy Colleen McNally
34 ISSUE 94 MAY 2017 / www . modernathlete . co . za