Pretoria – The sad reality about the boardroom squabbles at Athletics SA, is the most affected parties in this detrimental equation are the athletes who suffer.
South African junior athletes are now set to miss out on another international event – the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine, from July 10-14.
If Athletics SA fails to quickly get its ducks in a row, the country will miss out on the international showpiece, less than a month away.
Athletics SA is under administration and will be hard pressed to come up with the funds to send the team to Europe for the championships.
To make matters worse, Athletics SA funds are only accessible to administrator Zola Majavu, who is not recognised by the IAAF.
Embattled chief executive James Evans would have to hand an official South African team list to the IAAF for the championships, but he’s been suspended and is disenfranchised.
It would be an almost impossible mission to sort out the national team and their travel arrangements for an international event in such a short space of time.
Burgeoning junior athletes in the country have perhaps been hardest hit by Athletics SA’s administrative shambles, to a point where many are at a crossroads.
Athletics SA official Geraldine Pillay, who is also a coach at Willowridge High School, east of Tshwane, said it’s now up to the coaches to keep athletes positive as many athletes are demotivated.
“I work with young athletes and many of them are discouraged. They are the ones who really suffer from this mess. It’s a shame that they’re the ones left out in the cold.”
But the unsung heroes (coaches, provincial officials) are doing all they can to keep the fading flame alight in the midst of the storm. It’s been a roller-coaster ride for many athletes riddled with ups and downs.
AGN and Tuks Athletics official Len Claasen finds it hard to motivate his athletes to continue training. “Athletes should not have to worry about petty things and politics, only about their conditioning and training. I just tell them to keep on training. What else can I do?”
The announcement that the cancelled African Junior Championships have been rescheduled to take place in Mauritius – on August 29 to September 1 – has somewhat lifted athletes’ spirits. But the late announcement means the athletes’ training regimen was interrupted as many weren’t sure they were going to take place at all.
The African Juniors were meant to be hosted in Germiston this month but were called off because Athletics SA as hosting federation could not meet their obligations. – Pretoria News