South Africa P.I.G.: SASCOC

Showing posts with label SASCOC. Show all posts

Chuene’s trail of lies

Secret report reveals Chuene's plotting <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPKm5Xm8o6vksVqdKwlSwPNX0E2KKLloV8TLlHGUhyphenhyphenWE_MsVAYhdbWai3S6VlQLt33yXLqWZfYTT8H1gEM5zV75jJi_3Hbd82EnDjipYfF6Hy_Mfc_tJHNovPl_AmmlG6RatVesBOu4I/s1600-h/chuene_anc1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395898404005122034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPKm5Xm8o6vksVqdKwlSwPNX0E2KKLloV8TLlHGUhyphenhyphenWE_MsVAYhdbWai3S6VlQLt33yXLqWZfYTT8H1gEM5zV75jJi_3Hbd82EnDjipYfF6Hy_Mfc_tJHNovPl_AmmlG6RatVesBOu4I/s400/chuene_anc1.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 378px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>In a bombshell report the doctor of the South African athletics team, Harold Adams, has accused Athletics South Africa (ASA) boss Leonard Chuene of deliberately politicising and sowing confusion in the Caster Semenya gender test saga. Adams’s confidential report, leaked to the Mail & Guardian, suggests that Chuene consulted top-level politicians before deciding, against Adams’s advice, to field Semenya in the World Athletics Championship in Berlin in August. The M&G understands that one of these politicians was the controversial ANC head of Parliament’s sports committee, Butana Komphela. In the report Adams asks: “Did Chuene consult with the ‘high-powered politicians’ to merely get an endorsement and political backing for his pre-conceived plan of getting a medal at all costs?” He says Chuene told a medical team of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that “withdrawing Semenya was not acceptable to top-level South African politicians who are also in government and that if the IAAF insisted on Semenya’s withdrawal they would face the wrath of the South African government, because it would not hesitate to take the IAAF to the highest court in the land”. Adams accuses Chuene of “an orgy of lies” and “selfish interest to cover his back at the expense of Semenya’s welfare”. He describes his decision to let Semenya race in Berlin as “reckless, short-sighted and grossly irresponsible”. Chuene did not reply to the M&G’s questions this week and Komphela was unavailable. In Parliament this week Chuene blamed the IAAF and the media for Semenya’s woes, saying he had only acted to protect the athlete. Adams’s report indicates that Chuene lied to Parliament by saying that the IAAF had suggested Semenya should fake an injury and withdraw from the race, which he considered “unethical”. The report was sent to the ANC and South Africa’s Olympic governing body, Sascoc. It has come to light in the week that IAAF president Lamine Diack was due to have visited South Africa to discuss Semenya’s gender test with her and the government. But Diack announced on Thursday that he had cancelled the trip. Komphela has declared Diack unwelcome in the country. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbKCfw0XpJXwgYb5jDFm1pHJFfaFVOfe1liXnEbbrAuOdiTIsxsAKyJfi05RwzdxWuv0jWBOrg336xzjusSnaLL1-0iNTG_B3wLnE7CYOJeURiFIlkFmZj-datpP6e7Cd9PemiOkHrAI/s1600-h/malema-fuckr.bmp"></a>Said a senior athletics official: “The report should raise questions about why Komphela has kept quiet all this time. Chuene told him he was going to do something bad and would need the support of politicians when he gets back home. “After Komphela realised that Chuene was in trouble, he spoke to [ANC Youth League leader] Julius Malema to try to squash this whole thing.” The report reveals that when Adams recommended that Semenya be withdrawn from the championships, Chuene initially agreed. Adam says: “The reason for my advice was that the tests might prove too traumatic for Semenya to handle, especially without the necessary support of family and friends around her. “The other reason was that being tested at the World Championships would not give her enough time to consult extensively and perhaps arrive at a decision to refuse the testing, if she felt it would infringe on her privacy and personal rights.” Adams alleges that Chuene changed his mind the next day after consulting ASA deputy president Kakata Maponyane and politicians back home. The report reads: “The following day Chuene informed me that he had changed his mind about Semenya’s withdrawal. He said if we withdrew Semenya, what explanation would we give the politicians back home? “Chuene then requested me to set up a meeting with the IAAF’s medical team. I asked him why he did not discuss the matter with the president of the IAAF and agree with him on how to take the process forward, because this was such a delicate matter. “Chuene said talking to the president of the IAAF would be his last option. He first wanted to politicise the whole thing and to cause confusion within the IAAF medical team.” Chuene has defended his decision to field the 800m champion in Berlin by saying that “no reasons were given to him on why he should withdraw Semenya from the championships”. Adams asks: “The question is: why did Chuene suddenly doubt my credibility when I have such credentials behind my name? Did Chuene consult with the ‘high-powered politicians’ to merely get an endorsement and political backing for his preconceived plan of getting a medal at all costs?” At Chuene’s request, Adams arranged the meeting with the IAAF’s medical team, where he said Semenya’s withdrawal would be unacceptable to top-level politicians and the South African government. “He told me to keep quiet in that meeting and that he and Maponyane would defend the country’s position ...” On Tuesday Chuene told Parliament’s sports committee that the IAAF medical team gave him two options during their meeting: the first, that Semenya should fake an injury and withdraw from the race, which Chuene rejected as “unethical”, and the second that “she run and finish and the matter can be addressed after the race. Chuene was not comfortable with this option.” But Adams says that the IAAF team made it clear “that Semenya could compete at the World Championships, on condition that she accepted that she would be subjected to the IAAF’s gender verification tests in Berlin and that, if any unfair advantage was detected on the part of her, she would be stripped of any medal she might have won at the championships; or that Semenya is withdrawn from the world championships. “If [the latter] was to be the option exercised, the IAAF was comfortable with ASA handling the matter of the gender verification tests back in South Africa and a report on the said tests sent to the IAAF.” The Democratic Alliance’s Donald Lee said Chuene should be “ashamed of the role he has played in this saga. It is disgraceful that he has never been admonished, much less dismissed, for his role in violating the dignity of Caster Semenya. He needs to be held accountable and needs to step down as the head of ASA.” Last month the M&G exposed Chuene’s trail of lies, including his claim that no gender tests had been conducted on Semenya in South Africa. The report says that Chuene asked Adams to be present at his press conferences to confirm this claim to put the matter to rest “once and for all”. Adams turned down both requests because he could not endorse a lie. “I sincerely believe that Chuene’s decision to refuse that Semenya be withdrawn was ... reckless, short-sighted and grossly irresponsible. Chuene’s orgy of lies had absolutely nothing to do with Semenya but all had to do with Chuene’s selfish interest to cover his back at the expense of Semenya’s welfare,” Adams says. Youth league president Malema continues to give public support to Chuene, and the ANC’s Caster Semenya task team also attacked the IAAF this week, saying the gender tests “were not conducted in keeping with their own stated gender verification policies and rules”. It demanded that the IAAF make a public apology. Sources said Adams was reluctant to present his report to the task team on Tuesday because the ANC had already taken a position. “The whole thing was well planned; everyone is now blaming the IAAF and this was part of the plan,” the senior official said.

Chuene’s trail of lies

Secret report reveals Chuene's plotting In a bombshell report the doctor of the South African athletics team, Harold Adams, has accused ...

1:26 PM

Peek into shameful SA at Olympic Games

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnc0MvUIjolPQEQeyxa5dSH78UMBKwZzfIpqmzaH4usUFFlPgODkk7QVkro8ZgO4_PfOiUZvlPdpj30VmxW3wdmEvZJVuqax_-UdwBMqDl00jDvKERMTYdahgue-A2Yb83mn0-wUnzaM/s1600-h/MashishiMoss061101PosingGLbg.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238014813385615490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnc0MvUIjolPQEQeyxa5dSH78UMBKwZzfIpqmzaH4usUFFlPgODkk7QVkro8ZgO4_PfOiUZvlPdpj30VmxW3wdmEvZJVuqax_-UdwBMqDl00jDvKERMTYdahgue-A2Yb83mn0-wUnzaM/s400/MashishiMoss061101PosingGLbg.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Beijing - South African sporting authorities left Natalie du Toit badly in the lurch only hours before her historic Olympic debut. They amongst others allegedly: - Refused to find her accommodation near her competition venue - Screamed at her and her coach when they asked for the help of a translator of the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) - Forced her to wear a sponsor's shoes with uncomfortable heels even though she couldn't walk with them due to her disability These revelations come amid serious criticism of the poor performance by SA athletes in Beijing. They are not the only evidence of the sporting authorities' hand in the fiasco. Swimmer Ryk Neethling said the tensions in the swimming team were so bad that the swimmers and their head coach almost got physical. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9J8CpqYsxwunBw3azZeVzdiYy6F6LjJWbGYX5wvcOPOVaui5U8G8o0M3WJYPhVnoy9UtdiHyulNs9nj0wwOontlFioGJzb8DQQNJoYMTFRVwY0Kf0w9Ekycg2Dv48ECliS70ePoGX6GA/s1600-h/natalie2large.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238015262252546594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9J8CpqYsxwunBw3azZeVzdiYy6F6LjJWbGYX5wvcOPOVaui5U8G8o0M3WJYPhVnoy9UtdiHyulNs9nj0wwOontlFioGJzb8DQQNJoYMTFRVwY0Kf0w9Ekycg2Dv48ECliS70ePoGX6GA/s320/natalie2large.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Rapport learnt that the accommodation that SASCOC found for Du Toit was so far from her competition venue that she would have had to get up at 04:00 to get a bus at 05:00 so she could arrive at her destination at 06:00. She was due to swim three hours later - not ideal preparation for an Olympic event, Rapport was told. Du Toit herself found a hotel near the venue only 48 hours before the Olympic 10km open water swimming event - almost an hour's drive from Beijing. SASCOC bosses apparently also refused to help carry Du Toit's luggage to a taxi. A source told Rapport, "It is absolutely scandalous that SASCOC did not lift a finger to make things easier for Natalie. Heavens above, she has enough obstacles." "She is one of the Games' darlings due to her incredible guts, but her own people snub her." Meanwhile, swimming star Ryk Neethling told how he had to break up a fight between the SA swimming captain Gerhard Zandberg and Roland Schoeman about comments that Zandberg had made. After Neethling tried to make peace, he feared that Swimming SA's head coach Dirk Lange would hit him. Neethling said he could no longer face swimming for SA after the tense atmosphere, which had been going on for years. He said either Lange left or he would. "It reached an absolute low point at the Olympic training camp in South Korea before the Games. It was so bad that Lange and I did not speak a single word to one another here at the Games."

Peek into shameful SA at Olympic Games

Beijing - South African sporting authorities left Natalie du Toit badly in the lurch only hours before her historic Olympic debut. They amon...

2:02 AM

It's a horror show for SA at the Olympics

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5GoAJmk_5j8ma6e2sdzYNk9MwJ_-mbugyY-Ty6orMaNZhT0Z845MEAdhrBtRDSVV6tuf_ai5COejLzbdDOzIyoXo0LX9cGTpnrmhpBg1rfzHLunlCir-rpZXgTuxiyDms3WnoSK8LRE/s1600-h/funnyjunksite_olympics.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237718925904441890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5GoAJmk_5j8ma6e2sdzYNk9MwJ_-mbugyY-Ty6orMaNZhT0Z845MEAdhrBtRDSVV6tuf_ai5COejLzbdDOzIyoXo0LX9cGTpnrmhpBg1rfzHLunlCir-rpZXgTuxiyDms3WnoSK8LRE/s400/funnyjunksite_olympics.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>South Africa's Olympic athletes face a last-minute countdown to what could end as one of the country's most dismal showings ever at the Games. The Beijing Olympics ends on Sunday and Team SA's 134-strong team - the largest South Africa has sent to any Olympic Games, pre and post-isolation - has only a silver medal to show for its efforts, courtesy of long jumper Kgotso Mokoena this week. South Africa's poor medal count has largely been blamed on a severe lack of funding for our Olympians and the chaotic state of administration within Sascoc. Thursday was a disastrous 24 hours for Team SA. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South Africa's silver medallist from Athens in 2004, finished sixth in his semifinal and failed to qualify for the final of the men's 800m, and kayaker Shaun Rubenstein and javelin thrower Robert Oosthuizen failed in what has been dubbed Black Thursday. To rub salt in the wounds, the South African 4x100m men's relay team crashed out in the opening heats when they did not complete the baton zone. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoRY3OMzatI0powhxsM98wH0Ia0FjAjZ1pG-OVx9GCIh6XCX_5stPzLhjCRQWBQea-0AlbSz6RW7tmvI54_C8u5srukO63HwwGR89hEdBVIhdaj7SsukfFL9933d0rDeoV8GmhMHXFo4/s1600-h/OlympicDynamite.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237738935579157986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoRY3OMzatI0powhxsM98wH0Ia0FjAjZ1pG-OVx9GCIh6XCX_5stPzLhjCRQWBQea-0AlbSz6RW7tmvI54_C8u5srukO63HwwGR89hEdBVIhdaj7SsukfFL9933d0rDeoV8GmhMHXFo4/s400/OlympicDynamite.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>And earlier on Friday BMX hopeful Sifiso Nhlapo spectacularly crashed while eliminating several other riders from the race. Remaining medal hopes are few and far between, though Hendrick Ramaala, the country's hope in the men's marathon, is hoping for a final day flourish on the streets of Beijing on Sunday. Mountain bike cyclist Burry Stander and canoeist Jennifer Hodgson are also still to complete their events. South Africa is currently ranked 63rd in the world in terms of medal placings and, should the medal count remain unchanged, it would mean our worst performance since readmission at the Barcelona Games in 1992. South Africa won two medals in 1992, five in Atlanta in 1996, five in Sydney in 2000 and six in Athens four years ago - the latter from a squad of 106 athletes.Before the Beijing Games began, Moss Mashishi, president of the country's Olympic body Sascoc, said: "We should be in the top 10 to 15 countries in the world and we have plans to rectify the situation. But it's not going to happen overnight. We've embarked on a programme that will see us deliver tangible results." Even so, Sascoc had set as its target 10 medals six from swimming, three from track and field athletics and one from rowing. These figures were postulated by analysing competitors ranked in the top five in the world in their respective codes and disciplines. And Team SA';s disappointing on-field performances have been matched with a number of off-field embarrassments including poor quality apparel, poor taste in shoes and the ill-fated Ekhaya exhibition village which started a week after the opening ceremony. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTDcDbNmfRrJN10-DUCc3vId1gtFmIfphOhr3ebhbFltLzWvAJGZzxmSjWgGDz18asFlAM6GkKwZo5EA9LmcqPC-i7JqcLv6nZXjchYeYSGXI-Cr05qVHL8FSzgLIJ0mtG1REnPAi2iI/s1600-h/KFC1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237844430504546562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTDcDbNmfRrJN10-DUCc3vId1gtFmIfphOhr3ebhbFltLzWvAJGZzxmSjWgGDz18asFlAM6GkKwZo5EA9LmcqPC-i7JqcLv6nZXjchYeYSGXI-Cr05qVHL8FSzgLIJ0mtG1REnPAi2iI/s400/KFC1.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Mashishi has repeatedly offered the explanation that lack of funding has been their most severe handicap. "Between Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004, R60-million was spent on preparing our athletes during the same period Australia spent some 485 million Australian dollars (R3,6-billion)." Professor Tim Noakes, director of UCT's Sports Science Institute, said part of the reason for this was that the private sector had largely abandoned the Olympic team. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fbK6rpVV9nhWNfwC9optLORCPywy6StnFB6z_yXF-RGL4eRNIIsCVSInkWg8VK5Hr0HZGlRPag1DfO4KpQWO6qG_wy5CxkU5dwb2RpTd1SQo-JrsjP2RvU3z0Rxa3VNcHD0Ouhmlph0/s1600-h/OLYMPweightliftingchimpsf2.jpg"></a>"We're noticing the change now but it started very long ago because of mismanagement," he said. Private enterprise notices this. "South Africa hasn't invested in sport for the past 10 to 15 years. Every other country has shown that if you invest you get results. "If you want to be competitive, you have to be serious and professional. In South Africa we're so arrogant we think we can put the athletes on a plane and they will win gold." South Africa's star of the previous Olympics, Roland Schoeman, has already made a public plea for the South African public to be understanding of the team's performance. "There are going to be a lot of the public out there who will criticise us and say we suck, and we're useless, and there will be some who will understand. But they should know we're not funded like the Americans, Australians and Europeans," he said. Mashishi has promised an improved performance in 2012. "There has to be a systematic approach to our Olympic sport," said Mashishi. "Sascoc is going to have to look at prioritising different codes, and giving them extra assistance, in terms of finance and administrative support."

It's a horror show for SA at the Olympics

South Africa's Olympic athletes face a last-minute countdown to what could end as one of the country's most dismal showings ever at ...

7:08 AM

South Africa a nation of losers!

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmJ903jrjOtEKhWikLpRSmQ-c93QHvKwrrHXjI_yQhoZsGZ7nAiBUOAkenDzSHNwXNkAJhI-kt90Z1lsy6Xki_P6Nq5o7O3V9OSm9wfkp5mMMbMHl-ofeiXJx92C19w9gaszqMisyK1w/s1600-h/isit_cvl.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237127782547931522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmJ903jrjOtEKhWikLpRSmQ-c93QHvKwrrHXjI_yQhoZsGZ7nAiBUOAkenDzSHNwXNkAJhI-kt90Z1lsy6Xki_P6Nq5o7O3V9OSm9wfkp5mMMbMHl-ofeiXJx92C19w9gaszqMisyK1w/s400/isit_cvl.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>THE Olympian drought has finally been broken by Khotso Mokoena who won a silver medal for the men’s long jump. Thank heavens because it was beginning to look as though we would return empty handed. Interestingly the media decided to respin the lack of medals story after a week of dismal non performance and tell us that going to the Olympics isn’t about winning medals… it’s about competing. Try telling that to the Chinese. Of course it’s about winning and we aren’t are we? This isn’t because we’ve sent lousy athletes to the Olympics. We’ve sent the best we’ve got but they’re obviously not good enough. This could be because we prefer to spend the money looking after sports administrators and poncing around with “transformation” policies rather than spend money on our athletes. Sport is very political in this country and fat men in blazers do very nicely thank you. But the money argument looks a little lame when you look at the successes of some of the other African countries. For example, Kenya took gold and silver in the women’s 800 metres and I doubt whether they have more money to pour into sports training than we do. So our woeful lack of success on the track, our inability to erect and man a stand to promote 2010 at Beijing and our embarrassing loss to New Zealand last week probably comes down to the fact that we are a nation of losers and proud of it. Our national football team is ranked number 73 in the world I’m told and yet we’re hosting the 2010 World Cup (Julius Malema permitting). I didn’t even know there were 73 soccer playing countries in the world but supposing there are then that is a national embarrassment. Even by paying a coach a quarter of a billion a year (or whatever it is) we aren’t getting anywhere. What’s the point of having an expensive coach anyway if we are so lousy at the game? As the saying goes, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. It’s not only sport that we’re bad at though. According to Clem Sunter we’ve fallen from position 38 in the 55 top ranked industrial nations to position 53. We only have Venezuela and the Ukraine below us. That fall took place during a period of fair economic wind with pretty well everything in our favour. And yet we still managed to balls it up. If we fall off the 55 nations list says Sunter we won’t need to worry about things like Fitch ratings because we won’t qualify for loans. I would respectfully suggest that the global economic climate has changed dramatically in the last few months so our progress up the ladder depends on two things. Either we become a contrarian country and outperform the global economy or we hope to hell that the countries ahead of us on the league table screw up more than we do and we rise up the ladder by default. Bearing in mind our national work ethic and the government’s desire to make business less competitive internationally by hanging the BEE albatross around its neck then I think we had all better hope for the second option. We are a nation of bedwetters and also-rans and it’s all thanks to the ANC policy of constantly droning on about the struggle, racism, colonialism etc etc. Instead of rubbing their hands together in 1994, uniting the country and saying let’s get on with building a nation they’ve expended enormous energy helping themselves to taxpayer’s money, swanning around the world at our expense and blaming the past every time they cocked something up. The entire ANC struggle vocabulary is designed to keep the people on the ground exactly where they belong… on the ground. The all purpose accusation of “racism” is used whenever there is a hint of criticism. Our only hope is a complete change of government. How a nation feels about itself is very much like how a company feels about itself. If the management is competent and self confident then the workforce feels inspired and the company prospers. Visit a successful company and you can smell success at the reception desk. The truth is that SA Inc has been so badly managed over the years by a combination of dickheads and incompetents that it’s hardly any wonder we all feel gloomy. Would you let Alec Erwin rewire you’re house? Maybe the next lot will bring some much needed cheer.

South Africa a nation of losers!

THE Olympian drought has finally been broken by Khotso Mokoena who won a silver medal for the men’s long jump. Thank heavens because it was ...

9:25 AM

SA tops Beijing list for worst-dressed

For today's weekend post, something of a humorous look at some news emerging out of the Olympic Games training camps this week, with a slightly South African flavour. I'm sure those of you in SA reading this will shake your heads in disbelief, and those of you anywhere else will wonder how backwards it is even possible to be. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235185628978305474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaSCclB82ock7dUaGLbTqBdnU_bmEeKOMiFxrkeORULW63Jp8d4PYoX7HrqTUyj4n0IHsfluI_6pszOpWJoThyphenhyphencI8bZo9QHHsfzzGxQD118PezKagmSrywfH-IPFuXoyhmc6b4eQMZu0/s400/beijingolympicsSAcrocs.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> The WORST had to be South Africa. Why? South Africa may not have clinched any medals at the Beijing Olympics yet but it has already topped one list - the worst outfits worn at the opening ceremony. The fashion faux pas of baggy tracksuits for the male athletes and "track skirts" for the women, underscored by lime-green Crocs, is making international headlines. Fashion website Streetboners and TV carnage gave SA first place for the worst outfit because of the Crocs. Senior writer Pat Forde at global sports website ESPN.com gave SA second place, for "committing the unpardonable offence of outfitting everyone in green Crocs", behind Denmark's jean shorts. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235186132616220946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85CUhfAIh_9eSxbK_yxuncF3HFdPQQRRdtwj6e-d9DnKmS2L7gav8YG0USJ5txcY4dWjs-87nxFCY4E5xnuJZR0EdcuZ6Ts41HsthIdKnshcGLMWadogdZzBU7WUddhUUKLyjsRXvyPs/s400/beijing+olympics+SA+team+crocs.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />CROCS! The news emerging from the SA Olympic training camp is that the kit and clothing that has been supplied to the athletes is way sub-standard. So sub-standard, in fact, that the labels and embroidery on the athletics vests says "Beljing" instead of "Beijing". It also turns out that the vests are unravelling after only a few days, that very few athletes have kit that is the correct size (a seamstress has reportedly been hired to make adjustments), and the clothing has been made of the same material that is reportedly used to make tracksuits. No ultra-light, breathable fabrics here. In the words of SA's Ruben Ramolefi: "I expect the runners will have a tough time. The clothes will sap one's energy. I also don't know about these little holes for the arms. The farther you run, the more chafing you will suffer. I don't know why we have been given clothing of such poor quality" The SA athletes are therefore understandably unhappy. One reported that it looks as though it was made in someone's garage, while another says it seems that "Grandma knitted it". Given the stakes here, you'd have thought that measuring and providing clothing for a group of SA's finest athletes would not be too difficult. I don't know exactly what transpired in the lead up to Beijing, but the kit is reportedly a mix of Mizuno and a local company called Sedgards, though I'm not sure whose clothing is falling apart), but to give the athletes such poor clothing is a disgrace (incidentally, I know Sedgars kit because when I was at school, they made my hockey uniform - let's just say that the last 10 years haven't changed the quality, if reports are accurate). Beijing's heat and SA's clothing More worrying, however, is the impact this is likely to have on performance. In the lead-up to Beijing, we've looked at technology in sport through the Speedo LZR racer in quite a lot of detail. A similar conversation could be had for clothing for running events, though the impact is not as great. It is nevertheless crucial, in Beijing's environment, to have clothing that does allow some breathability and cooling. Our athletes do not have this luxury, which means that already slim hopes in many events are going to be non-existent unless something changes. Further, the impact this has on the mental preparation is enormous. I believe that the biggest effect of many of the new clothing technologies you'll see in Beijing (like the Adidas Powerweb gear, and the Nike compression garments) is a placebo one - the athlete feels stronger, faster, more powerful, and that translates into better performance. Imagine you're the athlete lining in in lane 3 against Nike on your left, Adidas on your right, and your clothes feel like your grandmother made them...? Compare this to Australia - fitted one year ago I hate playing the comparison game to the Aussies (we tend to do this in SA as well), but I have to point out that last year in about November, the Australian Olympic Committee invited hundreds of potential Olympic athletes to a weekend camp where they were measured for clothing IF they made the Olympic team almost a year later. These athletes also had their eyesight tested so that contact lenses could be ordered for them. Of the measured athletes, perhaps only 60% of them actually made the team, but those who were picked could then have the right sized clothing ordered, and you know it is high quality equipment. Now, why do we, in South Africa, struggle so much to put clothes on our elite athletes? And more to the point, if you can't even put a decent vest together for the Olympics, then how can you hope to actually get the preparation of the athlete right for the competition? Imagine what the training and preparation will reveal - it's not only the clothing that is unravelling at the seams... <a href="http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/08/south-african-olympic-kit-made-by.html">South African Olympic kit: Made by Grandma</a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYTk5JSp3l0W3bXXx6h4G6Y7vw3xB4wPjXTJgc9Z4h3voTHAJFun4wy7YpI8A9qBNRnO6kceWd7fz78k_S4ZF0lr25qTNRkLLKM48mYa5WKQm2CXvotVdbg1C9JXX45K2Jo6xY0dS_xw/s1600-h/sascoc_logo.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235214090318543426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYTk5JSp3l0W3bXXx6h4G6Y7vw3xB4wPjXTJgc9Z4h3voTHAJFun4wy7YpI8A9qBNRnO6kceWd7fz78k_S4ZF0lr25qTNRkLLKM48mYa5WKQm2CXvotVdbg1C9JXX45K2Jo6xY0dS_xw/s400/sascoc_logo.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_XPTwNDY4iBHK1Tbq97Uvb070EyGdzMl1nYDHBp6T-Jv8wJmsmCoXCiHqmvXjEmkYqWG6Tm_20cCFgbi-w7DfLOfwV3FFKXW5jLqaK4c0fOzpdBljDeviz5wiT0M8IzUJmFok2WsOaU/s1600-h/SASCOC.jpg"></a>A local blog (geminisquest. blogspot.com) lambasts the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, Sascoc. "No one from Sascoc is able to comment about the shoddy gear, but it is clear the poorly made clothing and lacklustre fitting is going to have a major effect on the team's performance," it declares. "While the world's elite athletes will be dressed in the best and latest running gear available, the South African team will be dressed like primary school cross-country runners with parents on a budget. "The psychological effect of this is obvious." Every one of those athletes has trained their hearts out to represent their country and yet they will stand at their start lines looking like amateurs and chumps. SASCOC, you have failed South Africa. You have failed to understand the significance of having pride in your country, and everyone responsible for this dire level of ineptitude should hang their heads in shame.Our hope is that our brave athletes will be able to rise above the inadequacies of the administrators.

SA tops Beijing list for worst-dressed

F or today's weekend post, something of a humorous look at some news emerging out of the Olympic Games training camps this week, with a ...

9:13 AM

SA's R15m 2010 World Cup project basks in Beijing dust

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Z8pW6D6hhiDO7Yh8gMABVGhKVWSTTBtEshwsE3QGNfDNjKjaQ_AFkb5ZEqsFJu1LZGB8sCPY25VKX9hZ1bGTLWwv7EgXRzAHyZxbeNYjhuY-msvliaEeDO0zzkKZjSe79_fpt1Df3Mk/s1600-h/SOCCER.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234815543753364082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Z8pW6D6hhiDO7Yh8gMABVGhKVWSTTBtEshwsE3QGNfDNjKjaQ_AFkb5ZEqsFJu1LZGB8sCPY25VKX9hZ1bGTLWwv7EgXRzAHyZxbeNYjhuY-msvliaEeDO0zzkKZjSe79_fpt1Df3Mk/s320/SOCCER.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Beijing is South Africa's Games of shame. The latest embarrassment is government's exhibition of R15m in the host city of the Olympic Games, which appears to be nothing more than an expensive flop. They were supposed to use the ball room of the Westin Chaoyang, one of China's most luxurious hotels, to promote SA. Millions were spent on hiring the venue for the duration of the current and Paralympic Games, booking 20 hotel rooms at almost R10 000 a night and specially made exhibition material. But the official who was in charge of SA's Ekhaya Olympic hospitality centre only arrived in Beijing three days before the start of the Games. The imposing Jinmao ballroom where Ekhaya was supposed to be held, appeared largely empty on Saturday. The exhibition material was not delivered. It was stuck at Chinese customs. The R15m bill for the huge marketing campaign is bigger than government's contribution for a year to the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC). The Games have so far been an embarrassment for SA sport. The country has been unable to win a single medal - something that has never happened before. SA's R15m project basks in Beijing dust Sport Minister Makhenkesi Stofile has asked his staff to explain why the Ikhaya Hospitality and Marketing Centre in Beijing has not been operational, when it was supposed to have opened 10 days ago. The centre, with a budget of R15 million is supposed to showcase the country and the 2010 Fifa World Cup throughout the games. The Centre is South Africa's hospitality suite in Beijing, it is at one of the newest and trendiest hotels in the city. South African Olympian George du Rand says they were curious to find out what was going on. He says he’s heard that normally the SA house is an interesting place. Despite all the money invested in Ikhaya, which was meant to promote the country for the Olympians in Beijing, so far very little has been done to make them feel at home. Merchandise worth millions has not arrived, and of 20 rooms at R8 500 per room per day , only nine are being occupied and it is costing R12 500 per day for an additional executive suite. Manase Makwela, Spokesperson for the Department of Sport and Recreation confirmed that the Centre is not occupied. He said they've been liaising with the hotel to see if they can’t take back rooms that have not yet been used. With only a week left before the Olympics are wrapped up, various international guests have been enquiring about the activities at the Centre. Some are of the opinion that the whole idea has been a waste. The Ikhaya Centre is also supposed to be operational during the upcoming Paralympics. Meanwhile the department has admitted that millions of taxpayers money has been wasted. Only time will tell if action will be taken against those responsible.

SA's R15m 2010 World Cup project basks in Beijing dust

Beijing is South Africa's Games of shame. The latest embarrassment is government's exhibition of R15m in the host city of the Olympi...

8:02 AM

South Africa P.I.G.