Rowing SA under fire for alleged bias

A selection row has hit Rowing SA (RowSA), with allegations of discrimination and questionable qualifying times allegedly used to pick some team members of the squad going to represent SA at the World Rowing Under-19 Championships in Lithuania next month.

Sowetan has seen emails between an aggrieved parent and RowSA vice-president Carolyn Thompson, with SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) COO Patience Shikwambana also part of the conversations that took place between May and June.

In the emails, the parent likened what's happening at RowSA to a 2017 American psychological horror film, Get Out.

“We are constrained not to imagine that we are witnessing a replay of the movie, Get Out, which is a movie where white people have identified and acknowledged the superior strength, intellect and wisdom that black people have arising from their DNA and making,” read the one email in part.

“It is a fact that black people are generally stronger and athletic and the covert attempt to exclude, hamper or frustrate them from competing professionally and internationally reminds one of this movie.”

The parent alleged the selection process was flawed to favour white pupils of one particular school, known to Sowetan, saying it was strange the girls didn't compete with other rowers but instead competed in heats on their own.

“Based on my observations, they were reserved for some purpose with the assumption that they are the fastest based on their results in other provincial and national regattas. They kept competing together and not with the entire group of girls trialing for the Gauteng provincial squad,” moaned the unsatisfied parent.

Another parent, who also can't be named to protect the identity of a minor, also suggested that RowSA was systematically discriminating against black athletes.

“There are hardly any black athletes selected. I think last year for the World Championship, there were only two black girls in the entire squad, so we are not shocked to see our kids being sidelined like this,” the parent bemoaned.

RowSA U-19 coach Jamie Croly refused to comment, directing all the queries to the federation. Thompson highlighted that the aggrieved athletes could still appeal, saying no one had appealed yet.

“Athletes who are still not comfortable with the process have the opportunity to go through the appeals process, detailed in our selection policy. However, to date, no athlete has followed this process,” said the RowSA vice-president.

But the parents argued that an appeal process would not be beneficial. “It's a time-delaying tactic,” one said, reasoning they had been waiting for a resolution for some time.

One parent also argued that her child had a better time than the chosen pupils from the said school. Thompson indicated that she couldn't share other information related to qualifying times as that would “impede the privacy of athletes”, albeit she said some information was already on their website.

While Sowetan couldn't get hold of Sascoc's Shikwambana, she stated in one email to an aggrieved parent: “Please be advised that in discussion with the president of rowing, Mr Ben Burnard, we were informed that the federation is attending to the concern raised. We await feedback before our intervention.”

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