Another U.S. Team Will Compete in South Africa

Apparently undaunted by the possibility of being banned, another group of American athletes will depart next month for a series of track and field meets in South Africa.

The group, calling itself Athletes for Peace, will compete in five meets co-sponsored by the South African Transport Service and Topsport, a sports television network. Last October, 17 athletes and coaches competed in four meets in South Africa.

All those connected with that tour were suspended by The Athletics Congress, which governs track and field in this country, for periods ranging from two to 12 years. The bans were the first of their kind in the sport.

That tour marked the first time since 1962 that American athletes defied international bans against competing in South Africa.

Organizers of the tour stress the humanitarian aspects of the trip, but the world’s sports community--including the International Olympic Committee--has long excluded South Africa from participation. Because of South Africa’s policy of apartheid, or racial separation, the country has not competed in the Olympics since 1960 and was expelled from the IOC in 1970.

TAC rules prohibit its members from competing in South Africa or against South Africans anywhere.

Still, tour organizer Dick Tomlinson said it has been easier to recruit this time because the athletes know they will lose their eligibility if they make the trip. Last year, there was uncertainty as to possible penalties. That may have accounted for the tour including mainly athletes near the end of their careers.

Among those who participated were former javelin world record-holder Tom Petranoff and Olympians John Powell (discus), Carol Cady (discus), Ruth Wysocki (800 and 1,500 meters) and James Robinson (800 meters).

Those who went on the tour said the meets were fully integrated and they were allowed freedom of movement within the country. Tomlinson said this year’s tour will include clinics in black homelands and in rural areas.

Tomlinson, a former coach from Live Oak, Calif., said all athletes who went last year were given a first right of refusal to return. He said most are returning to form a group of 20 athletes and coaches, of whom 11 are black.

Alvin Chriss, special assistant to the executive director of TAC, said he is aware of the impending tour and is exploring legal ways to prevent it. There is also reportedly a move among athletes in South Africa to organize an internal boycott of the meets.

The timing of the meets coincides with a meeting of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa in neighboring Mozambique. The council is expected to discuss calling for a boycott of the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, in response to the tour of South Africa by a New Zealand rugby team.

One problem Tomlinson encountered this time was the budget, which last year enabled the tour organizer to promise athletes $10,000 a meet and included performance bonuses. Attendance was disappointing, however, and Trek Petroleum, which sponsored the tour, reportedly lost money.

The budget this year is significantly less. “I don’t have enough money,” Tomlinson said Thursday. “I can’t expect people to face certain termination of their standing for a pittance. I have to make it worth their while.”

Gert LeRoux, director of the South African Amateur Athletic Union, confirmed that the meets will take place.

“We are definitely planning it,” he said from Pretoria. “The first tour was a success. Getting that kind of major sponsorship is not easy. But the main thing is to get competition for our athletes.”

The group leaves Nov. 2, and the meets are Nov. 7 at Germiston, Nov. 10 at Bloemfontein, Nov. 14 at Stellenbosch, Nov. 18 at Potchefstroom and Nov. 21 at Pretoria.

It will be the start of the track and field season in South Africa, and to ensure the highest levels of competition, officials have added an incentive. The highest honor that can be bestowed upon a South African athlete is to be awarded the Springbok colors. However, the colors can be won only through international competition. Because of the secrecy and unofficial nature of last year’s tour, those meets could not be used for Springbok qualification.

The first three meets will be used to select the South African team. The final two meets will be the Springboks against the Americans. The meets are being advertised in South Africa as the first international series since 1966.

BACKGROUND Because of its official policy of racial separation, South Africa has been a sports outcast. The country has not competed in the Olympic Games since 1960, and worldwide, athletes in many sports are restricted from competing in South Africa or against South Africans.