Though delighted to have won Athletics SA’s Province of the Year award at the weekend, EP Athletics boss Sticks Stiglingh said there was still much work to be done.
Stiglingh said it had been a proud moment for him to walk on stage at Athletics SA’s awards ceremony to receive the accolade at the annual glitzy gala event at Montecasino in Fourways on Saturday night.
The EPA president, who served as vice-president of ASA for a term, said the province was not as yet at the level it would like to be, but it was working to maintain a high professional standard.
He also applauded the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality for its unwavering support and said he hoped the award would attract more sponsors.
“For us, this was the greatest achievement that I thought we could get as a province,” Stiglingh said.
“Last year, we were third and I thought we might have won it. This year we actually got it.
“But I guess it’s about consistency over a few seasons [that helped us win] and I think everyone agreed that we deserved to win.
“It was an immense feeling to walk up there and receive this award on behalf of the province.
“I am so proud of each athlete, official and administrator.
“I can only attribute this to all the dedication of so many people and all the work of so many people as a team, as a board and especially our LOC, a whole team who present races.
“In the past three years, we have been focusing intensely on development from grassroots right up to our top athlete.”
He said the clubs were understanding of their roles and how they could develop from their side by having a better structure.
“That is the cornerstone, to start right at the bottom.
“Three years ago, we had not had a coaching course for 20 years or so.
“Now every year we have courses for levels one and two.
“Some of our coaches are going to level three.
“The other factor is that we as a federation had three planning sessions and at those we decided on the goals.
“If you look at our growth, three years ago we had 10% growth and last year we had 17% and this year we have 30% growth and that was unbelievable.”
Stiglingh said the main challenge and biggest concern was that athletics facilities were not in good shape.
Sprinter Akani Simbine and javelin thrower Jo-Ane van Dyk were the big winners on the night, securing two accolades each.
Simbine was named Male Athlete of the Year and Male Track Athlete of the Year after anchoring the SA relay team to the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and finishing fourth in the 100m final in a new national record of 9.82 seconds.
Van Dyk was named Female Athlete of the Year and the Female Field Athlete of the Year after enjoying a breakthrough season which that saw her securing the silver medal in her specialist discipline at the Paris Games.
The Herald
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