CSA fails our Junior riders

[buckstopper]

You obviously haven't heard of the Eric Von Enter. An event for u10 to jun, more geared towards developing talent. Fields are often bigger than SA's and include Team TT, road race, Hillclimb TT and Crit. Kids want to race too, and compete against their peers, fun rides are not the place for that. Yes provinces outside CG/GN do tend to do their own thing and are more pro-active in kids racing (below U16) than CG/GN where it's all about the Elites/Vets. The junior and U16's get categories because of numbers but there is very little encouragement for the girls.

[potgieter.e]

I would like to clarify something. There is no so called "ceilling" or "final destination or goal" as far as I am concerned. I am just a supporter of what my son wants to do and I certainly do not put my children into pressurised environments in terms of my expectations. I just want for them to have fun and enjoy any sport. If they excel then good for them. My correspondence about CSA was posted because I am angry with people that don't even have the decency to use communication channels to keep us and the public in the know and I feel it is not only good to be informed but it is a right. So lets not miss the boat here.There have been other instances where I was informed that there would be a track team to Australia and I had to keep on phoning to find out the plans but it was like pulling teeth. Rather don't set the kids up and keep the focus on local racing.

[Chrispy]

At last an official response from CSA's website.

 

July 25 - IMPORTANT NOTICE: JUNIOR WORLDS 2007

It is with regret that I have to announce that no Track or Road Teams will be going to the Junior World Championships in Mexico this year. This decision was taken somewhat at the last moment due solely to a lack of funds. Vigorous attempts were made to see whether sufficient funding was available but I am afraid, all to no avail. The fact is that it is hugely expensive just to get to Mexico. In addition the reality is that one needs to train at altitude beforehand to have any realistic prospects of success and therefore the costs of accommodating our cyclists in Mexico for this purpose, became prohibitive. I suppose we can take consolation in the knowledge that many other countries have been compelled to make similar decisions, including European countries who are a lot financially better off than we are, particularly with the strength of the Euro.

The only rider who will go to Worlds to represent R.S.A. will be Cherise Taylor who, besides being a medal prospect, is currently in Europe and her trip to Mexico is partly funded, by the UCI.

At the same time, I want to apologise for the lateness of this notice and any difficulty it has caused to our Juniors and their parents, managers and so on. To be transparent, this notice could have been posted a week ago. I was under the impression that once the decision had been taken, it would have been conveyed to our Track Juniors. A case of the left hand and the right hand not working together. Anyhow, I am not pointing fingers, the buck stops here, with me.

I would like to end this notice on a more optimistic note, our financial position which has been the result of many years of inadequate financial planning by the then Federation, promises to be a whole lot better over the next 12 months due to our having set up a commercial arm dedicated solely to raising funds for cycling. More on this in due course.

Kind regards

LAWRENCE WHITTAKER
PRESIDENT
CYCLING SOUTH AFRICA