Peeblesshire News | Sport | Games battle goes on

Friday, 5th December, 2008

Published: Friday, 24th November, 2006 12:53

Games battle goes on

By David Knox

NATIONAL athletics chiefs have come out off the blocks fighting after local promoters announced they were set to go it alone.

The Peeblesshire News revealed earlier this month that the Borders’ running officials had severed ties with the governing Scottish Games Association.

The SGA has overseen professional athletics, cycling and heavy events at Games meetings across the country for 60 years.

But organisers of popular running meetings on local tracks, including Peebles, Innerleithen and Selkirk, decided to form their own association, Border Athletics, in the Autumn.

And claim that they reached the decision after being refused financial help to stage a couple of extra meetings at Tweedbank next summer.

Following our breaking story, officials from the Scottish Games Association held an emergency meeting.

SGA treasurer Iain Watt told the Border Telegraph: “A lot of criticism has come the way of the SGA and we feel it is unfounded.

“We fear that this breakaway will mean the athletes lose out.

“At the moment athletes from the Borders compete at Games meetings all over Scotland, and we want that to continue. If not we could end up with a two-tier structure in athletics which won’t benefit anyone.

“The SGA works extremely hard to promote the sport. Unfortunately a lot of our work is behind the scenes and not appreciated.

“We want to continue helping the Games in the Borders, like we do with Games in all the other regions.

“Border Athletics made no official approach to us to fund extra meetings, and nobody from the Borders came to our recent annual general meeting where we made it clear that we have a surplus of funds available.

“There is obviously a communication problem, but it’s not too late to rectify it.

“I would urge the people involved with Border Athletics to work with us, not against us.

“Let’s shape it so that athletes benefit.”

SGA chairman Stevie Ryder also believes it will be the 150 or so local competitors who will lose out if they switch allegiance to Border Athletics.

He said: “Our members participate in a national prize league, have the option to enter at around 60 meetings, feel assured that a framework of drug testing takes place, receive free newsletters, and are guaranteed a level playing field.

“We think it’s important to ensure that the proposals don’t result in Border athletes being short-changed on benefits and services.

“A more constructive arrangement would be a regional association operating within the SGA, which currently works well in Fife and Grampian regions.”

But the likelihood of backtracking looks slim.

Progressive meetings have already taken place between Border Athletics and representatives from local amateur clubs, including Moorfoot Runners, Gala Harriers and Lauder Limpers.

And chairman of the new organisation, Ernie Blair, is confident they have made the right decision.

He said: “I have been speaking to SGA officials since July, yet it has taken until now for them to publicly respond. We have made an approach to them by letter and they responded by saying they couldn’t financially support Border Athletics.

“How much clearer can they be?

“We are well down the road to forming an association with Scottish Athletics – everything is going well.

“The only people who will lose out here are the Scottish Games Association people.”

The Border Athletics calendar will start next June with a games meeting at Earlston, before the running roadshow moves on to Hawick, Selkirk, Peebles and Innerleithen.

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