Algerians go AWOL, cancel African regional WMA championships

Africa

What if they had a continent without a masters track championships? Well, we have one now. The Eurovets website reports: “The hosting Algerian Athletics Federation informed that the 8th African Masters Championships in Biskra (ALG), planned for the last weekend of October, are cancelled. Here is the original version of the Algerian Federation (in French): J’ai le regret de vous informer que les 8ème Championnats d’Afrique des Masters on été officiellement annuler par comite d’organisation en date du 18 octobre 2010. Recevez Messieurs mes salutations les meilleures et a bientôt. MED ZIENEDDINE BOUBAKEUR” Sacre bleu, Batman! Heads should roll over there. But don’t count on it.

Print Friendly

October 22, 2010

4 Responses

  1. Pam Immelman - October 22, 2010

    Sad, but true ! I wonder if WMA knows of the cancellation ??!!

  2. pino pilotto - October 23, 2010

    Waka waka?
    sad

  3. Jerry Bookin-Weiner - October 24, 2010

    This is far from the first time there has been no African Regional WMA Championships in a biennium. The number of masters events on the continent (outside South Africa) is infinitesimal — in fact I don’t think there are any. The number of athletes with African affiliations (from outside South Africa again) who enter the World Championships is also infinitesimal.

    Simply put, masters athletics in these countries (and I would include Middle East countries as well in this) is no one’s priority, and for good reason. Support for athletic federations in these countries comes virtually exclusively from ministries of sports (often linked as Youth and Sports).

    I know, from having discussed this with the Minister in one country (a person who was an Olympic gold medalist in the 1980s and someone very interested in our sport), that with rapidly growing populations that are often more than 50$% under the age of 20, heads would more likely roll if the very meager resources those ministries get were put to masters events. The focus in those countries is on activities for youth to keep them off the streets, give them something to do, identify potential elites and give what they can to the elites (often not much, just ask the elites in those countries). It is the elites who have the potential of winning the Olympic and World Championship medals that do so much for national pride (a scarce commodity in many of these countries) that reflects favorably on those in power, but that is actually secondary to giving youth something positive to do.

    Being more than a bit familiar with the situation in North Africa (it is where I do most of my work professionally), I was actually shocked when it was announced that the African Championships would be held there. That they were canceled is therefore no surprise.

    I will wager that the reason for the cancellation was the lack of entries to have a viable competition. With no local or national masters events in Algeria or neighboring countries (one of which has a closed border with Algeria) and the very high cost of travel within Africa the cancellation comes more into focus. In addition, the visa roadblocks to be surmounted would even stop those few with the resources to go to Algeria. Most athletes from Africa would have had to transit Europe to get to Algeria and that would have required not just an Algerian visa but also a European visa (a common European visa called a Schengen visa that is nearly as hard to get at a US visa).

    So, exactly whose head should roll??

  4. Andre Esterhuysen - November 17, 2010

    This is shocking news.I trained for months and months to compete at this championship…and now this. The worst of all is that nobody cares.

Leave a Reply