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Arnaud Malherbe, the acting head of ASA's athletes' commission, hit out at the federation's interim administration on Monday, saying he was "disgusted" after South Africa placed third for their worst performance at the continental championships in 10 years.
Stander, however, said they had set out a long-term plan for success at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu next year and the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which would involve sacrificing medals at less significant championships in order to raise the level of performance at major global events.
"While ASA's focus is on delivering athletes that can produce medal-winning performances at next year's IAAF World Championships and at the 2012 Olympics, the African Championships event was a stepping stone towards reaching this objective," Stander said.
"In fact, we set a target of winning 14 medals in Nairobi and returned with 19, so we are pleased with the results.
"We believe that ASA is in the process of raising the bar in a direction back to where the sport was on the international scene 10 years ago, whereby we are able to occupy a position among the top 10 nations in the world."
When he announced the changes in criteria in April, which included the introduction of a window period during which athletes would have to qualify for international championships, Stander said the nation would begin to see the results at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.
Complaints poured in, however, after possible medal contenders were omitted from the team for the World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada last month and the continental senior championships.
Stander said over 320 coaches and officials would have a chance to discuss the new criteria, as well as possible amendments, at a symposium in Bloemfontein later this week.
"This weekend's coaches symposium will be the platform where coaches can voice their opinions on selection criteria matters in a bid to find a workable solution which will allow for our athletes to be best prepared for next year's World Championships and the next Olympics," he said.
