Is the local athletics and road running scene set for a massive shake-up?

It remains unclear how much the sport will change when it eventually emerges from the lockdown, along with every other code which has been affected, but South African athletics could be preparing for some big adjustments next year.

Though little has been done about it, there have been long-running concerns around the structure of the domestic athletics calendar, and early indications suggest a new-look 2021 fixtures list might address some of those issues.

Next year’s calendar has not yet been released by Athletics South Africa, but it was revealed this week that the provisional fixtures could see the Comrades Marathon being shifted from June to September, which is likely to result in a shake-up of the sport.

Traditionally, the road running season has been largely squashed into the first half of the year, with the period between January and June packed with qualifying and build-up races used by athletes to prepare for the Two Oceans and Comrades ultra-marathons.

Should Two Oceans continue to be held in March or April, however, with Comrades being pushed three months back, it should stretch out the long list of qualifying races and balance out the calendar.

And while they’re at it, ASA would do well to shake things up in track and field as well.

With most of the world’s top-flight competitions taking place in the northern hemisphere, elite local athletes have had to produce a double peak since readmission to international sport in the early 90s.

First they need to perform at domestic level, aiming to peak at the SA Championships in April, in order to qualify for major events or earn invitations on the global circuit. They must then recover in time to regain their best form in August or September, when major international championships are usually held.

By moving the SA Championships back by just a month, and relaxing local qualifying standards, the domestic season would coincide with the early stages of the international campaign and would ultimately be less demanding on the country’s track and field stars.

The Covid-19 pandemic has created all sorts of challenges across all spheres of society, and sport has been given as much of a shake as anything else.

But the enforced changes might not be all bad, and if the calendar has to be temporarily adjusted, it could provide an opportunity to align and balance the athletics calendar both locally and internationally.

These are rough times for us all, but in terms of making sweeping changes, perhaps challenging times like these are as good as any.

Wesley Botton.

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