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ASA in search of sponsor

Johannesburg - Athletics South Africa is still in the hunt for a road running sponsor, board member Hendrick Ramaala said on Thursday.

"We are working on it 24-hours a day," Ramaala said at the launch of the ASA season calendar in Houghton.

The federation lost its road running sponsor, Nedbank, amid a barrage of negative publicity when the board was suspended by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) in November 2009.

The new executive, elected in September 2010, had yet to find a replacement, Ramaala said, and would rely solely on funding from the Lotto for road races this year.

Ramaala, the 2004 New York Marathon champion, said it was nonetheless able to keep its road running section afloat.

"We won't starve our runners. Even with minimum resources we can make a commitment to our top runners," he said.

"We need a sponsor right now, but if nobody comes on board we do have a plan B and we will survive."

The former Matha Series of elite races was scrapped last year, but this season's calendar includes national championship races over 10km, half-marathon and marathon distances.

The federation also confirmed that the Cape Town Marathon, in September, and the Soweto Marathon, in November, would take place this year.

Yellow Pages would again fund the track and field season, as part of a three year deal, and a full schedule of events were scheduled, starting with the SA Combined Events Championships in Potchefstroom on January 28 and 29.

The previous ASA regime was criticised for its selection policies, with athletes forced to compete locally to qualify for international championships.

However, newly-elected chairperson James Evans said it would not be as strict as the federation had been in the recent past.

"We want to send our best team to the World Championships (in Daegu in August), but we are not going to have exclusive rules. We will have inclusive rules," Evans said.

"The guys must perform, and if they do, they will be selected.

"We don't mind them qualifying overseas, but if they don't compete in the domestic season they must prove to us they are in form based on their performances in Europe.

"We want our top athletes competing in the Yellow Pages Series, but we're not going to tell them they must do x, y and z. If they perform well, they will be in the team."

ASA board member Arnaud Malherbe said it would release qualifying standards next week for the global championships, which would "clearly detail" what was expected of the athletes who hoped to make the team.

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