Unsanctioned races blamed for falling officiating standards

Kenyan · 2015-10-22T12:58:42+00:00

Athletics Kenya CEO Isaac Mwangi is blaming the mushrooming of unsanctioned races for the falling standards of officiating in the country. Over the recent past, some events have witnessed confusing developments including poor timing, poor marking and lack of policing along the route, leading to cheating. At the 2013 Tea Board Marathon, a section of the route was washed away thus sending the runners the wrong way and forcing them to cover a distance of up to 52km. This year's Family Bank Half Marathon had the unofficial results indictaing the first six female runners had dipped inside the world half marathon record. Similar timing challenges were witnessed at the 2015 Mulley's Half Marathon in Machakos, where the initial times recorded varied with what was later released as the final official results. Several other races have had similar problems and Mwangi says they are alive to this fact. "We are aware of these challenges and this has led to the formation of the road running commission which will, in addition to overseeing these races, develop guidelines," said Mwangi. "There have been so many races in the recent past which mean our technical capacity has been overstretched." "The new rules by the road running commission will ensure standardisation of all the events in the country where organisers will have to meet a set of requirements," added Mwangi. He said the increase in races has prompted them to think of more training opportunities for their technical officials in conjunction with their affiliates and the counties. "We are going to increase our technical courses to allow for the training of more officials right from the regions, counties and finally at the national level," added Mwangi. The first of such courses is set for next month, Mwangi revealed. In addition, AK will introduce a new grading system where an interested technical official will have to climb through the ranks from the region, county and eventually national level. "Our affiliates usually conduct their courses within our set guidelines and as we speak, Kenya Defence Forces, Kenya Police Service and Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties have already conducted theirs," said Mwangi. Source: The Star

Thread starter Kenyan
Start date Oct 22, 2015

Kenyan

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Unsanctioned races blamed for falling officiating standards

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