As a person involved on athletics for more than 50 years, runner, organiser, coordinator, club management, committee member, athletic official and coach, I have seen many changes in the sports management and structure supposedly to improve things - but for who?

It used to be that male and female structures were separate organisations with different management and rules: both run by those who experienced the sport and became part of the management system. Officers were elected annually at an AGM and none earned high salaries if anything at all. An athlete winning an event could earn a medal in certain competitions but to win a prize was a definite breaking of the rules and being banned a possibility.

The sport has come a long way, some good but equally some bad; this is your chance to have your say on such matters as management, organisation, structure, pay, professionalism and AMATEURS [and anything else related]

It is my belief that our amateur sport has been taken over by those who expect to make a living out of it, the PROFESSIONAL, It is time to separate their structure and management recognising the AMATEUR. New structures and new rules which split paid sport from pastime sport and assists progression from one to the other if desired.

Do you know that without the army of volunteers who help out at EVERY athletic meeting the PROFESSIONAL sport could not survive, that includes judges, timekeepers, course marshals, announcers and results teams as well as top class unpaid club coaches (although in the top meetings some coaches announcers are paid professionals)

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