Google Athletics SA and one will find a host of articles where the embattled federation literally bungled with the selection of relay teams at major championships or just displayed general incompetence.
It was, therefore, a pleasant surprise when re-elected ASA president Aleck Skhosana assured the media that South Africa will be sending teams to next year’s IAAF World Relay Championships in the Bahamas.
This will be the first time since the inaugural World Relays in 2014 that the country will be represented for the event.
Skhosana addressed the media specifically due to the amount of space it devoted to the topic over the last two years in the build-up to the Rio Olympic Games.
For the first time since 1992, South Africa did not feature a track relay team at the Olympic Games despite boasting the best sprinters in South African track history.
“We have plans, among other things, to assemble a formidable team to participate at the World Relay Championships next year in the Bahamas,” Skhosana said.
“We will talk to the personal coaches of the athletes to prepare them for the championships.”
Considering the current sprinting depth in South Africa, spearheaded by world 400m record holder Wayde van Niekerk and Olympic 100m finalist Akani Simbine, the country could be medal contenders at the championships.
Next year’s local athletics season will include relay races at track and field meetings, giving athletes opportunities to prepare.
The idea is to create a culture in the country where racing in relays becomes second nature, errors are minimised and chances of success are improved.
“Among the priorities, is our aim to bolster the culture of relay races where we believe we have a strong opportunity to be a big player in the world,” Skhosana said at the Quadrennial General Meeting in Joburg last weekend.
“So, our annual calendars will be targeting the build-up to the World Champs in England next year and 2019 in Doha, the Commonwealth Games in Australia in 2018 and the Olympic Games in Japan in 2020.”
For all its faults, ASA finally seem to be looking at the bigger picture and another positive to come out of the QGM is the fact that the federation will introduce a uniform selection criteria for all major events.
ASA used to change their qualifying standards almost every year which caused confusion among athletes and their coaches.
At the beginning of this year, ASA wanted to introduce new qualifying standards months before the Rio Olympic Games.
Although the federation is set to introduce a more stringent criterion to lift the standard of athletics in the country, athletes will at least know what is expected of them long in advance.
One can only hope ASA will be consistent once they decided on how they will be selecting teams for major championships.
Skhosana also announced ASA had finally been granted a Tax Clearance Certificate which has been outstanding for almost a decade.
While the federation was still battling to settle its debt, it stands a better chance of securing a sponsorship now that it is tax compliant.
ASA is far from perfect, and speaking from experience there is sure to be a few more skeletons in its closet but it is currently making a lot of the right noises.
So far the country’s athletes have tasted international success despite bungling administrators.
Who knows how much they can achieve with the support of a well-run athletics body.
Saturday Star