Ke nako! The much-anticipated South African Track and Field Championships have finally arrived after some serious promotion from the athletes on social media.
Whether the athletes manage to #FillUpPotch or not, they can claim it as a success as they brought attention and excitement back into the sport.
It is once again a lesson that Athletics SA (ASA) and the athletes do not share the same priorities and vision for the sport.
Requests from athletes to join hands with the mother body to promote one of the most exciting championships in years fell on deaf ears.
As always the athletes were left to their own devices, and they responded by launching a campaign taking ownership of their sport.
It is not exactly clear what ASA’s priorities are, considering they scheduled the two-day meet on the same weekend as the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas.
Remember the World Relays? Teams have been selected but instead of making an announcement that South Africa has decided to withdraw they hoped the hype for the championships in Potchefstroom would erase questions about the relays.
Well played, ASA, sweeping this under the rug while the national championships deservedly receive all the attention.
At no point should the South African championships have been reduced to a second-rate meeting.
It has, and always will be, the highlight on the local athletics season, with the cream of South African track and field fight it out for bragging rights.
Tell Sunette Viljoen, who is on the cusp of winning her 12th national javelin title that it is just a small nyana championship.
These championships will showcase five Olympic medallists, including a world record-holder and a host of national and continental record-holders.
If ASA had any kind of savvy these championships should have been billed as a celebration of our Olympians.
Where is the red carpet for Wayde van Niekerk, Caster Semenya, Luvo Manyonga, and Sunette Viljoen?
Like every national championships I have covered since 2009 there is no hype around an event that should be ASA’s biggest-selling asset.
Other than what you see on social and traditional media, you will not know the South African Championships are being held in Potchefstroom.
No media on lamp-posts, no billboards, and nothing else but asking media to register for accreditation. That is the sum total of what they do to promote the event.
To their credit they have SABC radio out in its numbers, and some videos they post after the events, while there is the traditional "delayed live" coverage.
Perhaps ASA needs to relook at their deal with a "public" broadcaster that can’t give the event sufficient exposure.
After some digging and speaking to the right people, one found out that SABC has a live stream service planned for the event.
The sport needs to capitalise on the world-class athletes they have at the moment as athletics tends to go through cycles and – who knows – we might go through another dry spell in a few years’ time.
By passionately promoting athletics the way it should be done, you increase the chances of exposing more talent to the sport.