The South African Sports Association for the Intellectually Impaired (SASA-II) has failed athletes miserably. Due to its poor management and incompetence, these athletes will not be able to compete in the international Trisome Games in Turkey this year.
Due to sanctions that the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS) implemented against SASA-II as a result of non-payment, SASA-II was also unable to enter teams for the Global Games, which is equivalent to the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Thus, South African intellectually disabled world champions were unable to compete in the Games that were held in Australia in October 2019.
In addition, these same sanctions what were not addressed and resolved by SASA-II nor the Department of Sport in the interim, mean that athlete's dreams to compete in the Trisome Games, an important international competition that is to take place in March this year, are also in pieces.
The Department of Sport seemed both unwilling and unable to resolve these problems.
South Africa's intellectually disabled athletes qualify to compete in various sport codes in international competitions. These sport codes include, among others, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, tennis and athletics. At the previous Trisome Games that were held in Italy, the South African team won 79 medals. Some of these athletes also hold various world records.
Parents and other interested parties even went so far as to offer to raise the funds themselves to enable the athletes to compete. The body, however, denied any form of private funding but also did nothing to raise the funds itself to enter the athletes for these competitions.
Some teams, like the swim team, can still compete despite the international sanctions. And yet SASA-II denied them this opportunity as according to the body's chairperson, Mr Dikwadi Mohlabi, no exceptions can be made.
It is absurd that international athletes are being treated with such disregard not only by the very body that is supposed to promote their interests, but also by the Department of Sport that continues to brag about its so-called inclusivity every chance it gets.
The proposed National Sport and Recreation Amendment Bill, which was recently published and that will give the Department and the Minister more power and influence over the sport codes, will be fruitless seen in the light of the SASA-II case. If the Department cannot even intervene to ensure that world-class athletes can compete internationally, there is little to no hope for all sport codes in South Africa.
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