Former and current athletes are demanding at least 50% representation on the new Athletics South Africa (ASA) board. ASA will be electing an interim structure tomorrow to run the affairs of athletics for the next five months. Athletes say employing the wrong individuals in the past has dented the image of the sport.

Former Olympians Hendrik Ramaala, Geraldine Pillay, Arnaud Malherbe and Hezekiel Sepeng are among the front-runners to take over the running of ASA. Malherbe says the athletes understand the sport, they understand the various levels of sports, the complexities of it and they need people who can understand that and have the athletes best interests at heart.

Apart from wanting to be part of the Board, athletes also want to have influence at provincial and other levels. Earlier this week Sepeng was elected deputy president of Athletics Central North West. Sepeng says they need to be represented, not only at the ASA board level, but also to go down provincially. Sepeng says they need to be on the management development because in the past athletes were not allowed to do their own development programme.

By tomorrow afternoon there will be an interim leadership in charge of ASA, which will govern until April 2010, when a full time Board will be elected.