Obey the rules of sport
"Ignorance should not be used as an excuse. it is the duty of the runners to know the rules they need to follow."
Obeying regulations is important no matter what activity a person is doing.
Mr Bruce King, the race director of the Pick n Pay Marathon, believes that this mentality should be emphasised by sportspeople and sports clubs.
On February 12, at the Pick n Pay Marathon, a number of runners were disqualified for not wearing the correct race information.
Tension was evident between some runners and officials because of the disqualifications.
Mr King said officials from Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) disqualified the runners and enforced the rules of Athletics South Africa and CGA at the event.
“Rules and regulations regarding road running have been a concern for a number of years,” said Mr King.
According to him not all runners have been obeying the regulations over the years.
He said when runners apply for running licences they are given two ASA numbers and have to wear them when running.
Besides having to wear the ASA numbers, Mr King said runners must also wear their race number for the event.
“It is vital that both numbers and the ASA sponsors are visible,” said Mr King.
Another reason why it is important for runners to wear both ASA numbers is to prevent cheating and and non-licensed runners from taking part in the race.
He said sometimes runners will give one of their ASA numbers to a friend so the runner can take part.
Mr King said enforcing the ASA rules is important to the sport.
“Moving forward and to prevent tension between runners and officials, there needs to be a balance. Clubs, CGA, and runners must work together to ensure that the correct information is shared,” said Mr King.
If runners are interested in learning more about the CGA rules and regulations Mr King said they should approach their sports club and ask for the CGA rule book.
He said they could also approach CGA directly.
“Ignorance should not be used as an excuse. It is the duty of the runners to know the rules they need to follow,” said Mr King.
Looking forward, Mr King believes that if runners obey the regulations of the sport there will be even fewer instances where tension occurs between runners and race officials.
