South African athletes looking to qualify for this prestigious competition will be able to do so via this years' edition of the Yellow Pages Series and Championships which kick off in Potchefstroom on January 23.
The Yellow Pages Series will this year consist of six meetings, three at inland venues and three at the coast, to ensure that athletes in all events get ample opportunity to perform at their best.
The Yellow Pages Series will kick off on 23 January 2009 at the Kenneth McArthur Stadium in Potchefstroom and will then move onto the ABSA Stadium at the University of Pretoria in Tshwane on 30 January.
Thereafter the middle and long distance athletes will get their opportunity to impress when meetings will be held at King's Park Stadium, Durban, on 6 February, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Stadium, Port Elizabeth, on 20 February and Coetzenburg Stadium, Stellenbosch, on 27 February.
The Yellow Pages Series will conclude on 6 March at Germiston Stadium when athletes will already be fine tuned for the Yellow Pages SA Senior Championships at Stellenbosch a week later.
Fierce competition can be expected during the Yellow Pages Series. Not only will all of South Africa's top athletes be seen in action but they will have to watch out for the up and coming younger talent who last year showed that they are ready to take over from their senior counterparts. This is in line with the ASA strategy to prepare up and coming athletes for the 2012 Olympic Games.
In addition to the Yellow Pages Series, the Yellow Pages SA Senior Championships and the Yellow Pages SA Youth and Junior Championships will form part of this year's track and field calendar.
The SA Championships will serve as a qualifier for the World Championships. All athletes should participate at three Yellow Pages events and in their specialist events, to be considered for selection in the World Championships team.
The Yellow Pages SA Senior Championships, will take place in Stellenbosch at Coetzenburg Stadium on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 March and the Yellow Pages Youth and Junior Championships will take place in Tshwane at LC de Villiers Tuks Stadium on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 March.
The sponsors have generously committed themselves to making the Yellow Pages Series very exciting by offering incentives for top performing athletes. This, it is hoped, will motivate the athletes to world class performances. The male and female athlete of the meet will receive R15 000.00 each during the six Yellow Pages Series events, while the top performing male and female athletes at the SA Senior Champs will receive R30 000.00 each. The athletes will be expected to donate 50% (ie. R7500 and R15 000 respectively) of theincentive, to a charity of their choice.
This year, ASA will also pilot the Kids Athletics programme that will be introduced at all the Yellow Pages Series Events. This programme is a first in South Africa after being introduced by the IAAF more than a year ago, in line with the World Athletics Plan.
The Kids Athletics programme is intended to bring excitement into ‘playing' athletics. This will enable children to learn basic athletics skills such as sprinting, endurance running, jumping andthrowing.
The objectives of the programme are health promotion, social interaction and to build character of adventure to each child who participates. The programme will start at least three hours before the main programme at all the Yellow Pages Series events.
Mr Leonard Chuene, President of ASA said, “This year we will be introducing Kids Athletics to the Yellow Pages Series as part of our commitment to development. We are passionate about grassroots development because it forms the foundation for the growth of any sport.
We are convinced that Kids Athletics will make an important contribution to the strengthening and deepening of the athletics culture in our country.
Tied to this element ASA will be embarking on an ambitious programme to involve school children in secondary schools in coaching clinics and pre-programme activities in the Yellow Pages Series in its quest to emulate the successes of Jamaica in athletics. It is ASA's conviction that all its programmes will remain shallow without the active involvement of schools and educators. The schools remain a nursery for sports development,” concluded Mr Chuene.-
Thabo Seopa, MD of TDS, publishers of the Yellow Pages, said they were delighted to sponsor the Yellow Pages Series and championship events.
“Last year we saw great performances by athletes vying for a place in the Olympic team. We are expecting to see as much enthusiasm this year as our athletes prepare for the World Championships.”
