Sascoc elections: It’s make or break for SA’s Olympic athletes

While they battle the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, in an attempt to find their best form ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympics, the fate of local athletes might not lie in their own hands.

If Saturday’s SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) elections turn into a shambles, we won’t even have a national team at the Games.

The situation at Sascoc was unveiled as dire a couple of years ago when an independent inquiry found the board to be dysfunctional.

And though the leadership of the organisation has since changed hands, with former president Gideon Sam stepping down due to a board age limit, the war that has since been waged for control has threatened to drive the umbrella body into the ground.

Battling to rope in corporate sponsors, largely due to its tarnished public image, most of Sascoc’s funding comes from government and international governing bodies, and none of their backers are very happy with them at the moment.

Last month, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Sport said it was concerned about the apparent mistrust towards Sam Ramsamy, who was appointed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to oversee today’s Sascoc elections.

“We want a speedy recovery of Sascoc to ensure the smooth preparations for Tokyo 2021, and so that other member associations like Cricket SA can also be assisted to get their house in order,” said committee chairperson Beauty Dlulane.

After showing defiance towards Ramsamy, a faction within the Sascoc board was then told by the IOC and IPC to step back in line after they refused to accept the general assembly’s decision to reinstate suspended acting president Barry Hendricks and cancel disciplinary procedures into his conduct.

With financial statements reflecting a languishing organisation which is struggling to stay afloat, Sascoc is already facing a battle to prepare a South African team for the Tokyo Olympics, and if today’s elections don’t normalise the situation, the funding they need from other organisations may well be cut.

“We trust that common sense and respect for the democratic principles which govern the Olympic and Paralympic movement will now prevail,” the IOC said.

“We urge everyone to act responsibly and in good faith to ensure that the Sascoc elections take place smoothly as planned.”

For the sake of those who hope to compete at next year’s Games, hopefully Sascoc’s members will take heed of the warnings they’ve received and stabilise the ship before it’s too late.

Wesley Botton.

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