New EP Athletics president Marvin Draai wants to make the region the “sprint capital” of SA once again.
The 50-year-old was voted in on Saturday and takes over from Selby Thabethe.
Draai said his election had come as a shock.
“It was at the back of my mind that I could be elected, but with the president [among the nominees] there as well, you don’t know what to expect.
“It was a bit of a surprise when I did get most of the votes.”
Draai said athletics had always been in his blood.
“My mom says I could run before I could walk, so I have always been hyperactive, running, always on the track and I have always been passionate about athletics,” he said.
“I did the long jump and sprint at primary school and high school.
“At UPE [now Nelson Mandela University], I represented my university and took part in the SA University Championships for long jump.
“I then left the province and went to Gauteng in 2009 and there I joined the board of Athletics Gauteng North, where I served as the deputy president until 2013 when I moved back to Gqeberha.
“I have done a few Comrades Marathons and Two Oceans, so I am still very active and busy running.”
Draai said the biggest area he wanted to tap into as EPA president was development and, most importantly, make the resources and opportunities within athletics available to every child in the city.
“Athletics, in general, has not done well or looked good for a number of years and EPA, which was a sprint capital back in the days, has not featured very well in the national space.
“The vision is that we have a new look at our basis, how we develop the talent, our coaches and technical officials all the way up to administration.
“Because there is more than enough talent in this province and in the country,” he said.
“We also have enough resources with the university and the stadiums that we have.
“The tracks are underused.
“So we are looking at building relationships that will be mutually beneficial, but also purpose-driven for our athletes.
“I did say on Saturday that as somebody who has been in the development of athletics and has been in the community for many years, my plans stretch beyond four years.
“It’s an eight- or 12-year plan because we have to look how EPA is going to have representation at the next Olympics.
“But for us to dream Olympics, we must dream of being SA champions first.
“So we are looking at the talent, connecting the talent with the right coaches and spending the resources in relation with the other partners that we have in the city and sponsorships.
“Funding is a huge challenge for us.
“It’s all about putting a plan forward that is going to harness all the talent we can have and bringing the resources to that talent because we cannot deny that we live in a divided society,” Draai said.
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