Second false start for university’s Tartan track

The University of Mpumalanga (UMP) has missed out on yet another opportunity to host a major athletics event at its R27m tartan track.

Losing out on the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Relays and SA Multi-events Championships brings the period of it being unutilised to more than two years.

In 2020, the university had also failed to host the fourth leg of the Pumas School of Speed Series headed by Usain Bolt, which was moved to Hoërskool Nelspruit on short notice, without any reasons given.

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The ASA relay was scheduled to be hosted on the sports field on April 29 and 30, but due to a lack of maintenance, including the grass being uncut, and the exorbitant cost of R100 000 quoted by the UMP for the two days, the organisers decided against hosting it there.

“The whole place is a mess,” confirmed the chairperson of Mpumalanga ASA Track and Field, Andries Burger, following a recent inspection. “The sports fields are not being taken good care of. The grass has overgrown the tartan track. The parking area is dirty. They also told us that even if we pay the deposit, we would not be allowed to use the venue until they had received the full amount.

“We wanted to use the venue because we realised that since the field was upgraded, nothing was happening there. Hosting the national athletics would help the university host more games in future. I would like to believe that the R27m spent to upgrade the field was just a waste of money, since they haven’t hosted any games.

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“The games were going to inspire young athletes in the province, especially in the Ehlanzeni region. The university itself was also going to get more exposure from other provinces, since the games consist of all nine provinces and 17 regions,” Burger said, and added that failing to host another major event like this shows a lack of management skills.

The upgrading of the sports fields, including the tartan track, was completed towards the end of 2019, which was donated by the National Lotteries Commission.

UMP’s director of stakeholder liaison and communication, Tlangelani Ubisi, said they had sent a quotation and never received a response from Athletics South Africa.

“The actual cost of using UMP sporting facilities is R8 761.29 per day, and the total cost for two days is R17 522.58. The additional costs are for 12 mobile toilets, security, cleaning and the sound system. In a case ASA does not require the additional services from the university, they are more than welcome to provide for themselves. In our view, the cost of using the track for two days is very affordable. UMP has maintenance plans in place to maintain its infrastructure, including cutting the grass,” Ubisi said.

Burger said the additional costs were never mentioned.

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