Sam’s the man, IOC rules on the Sascoc imbroglio

● Veteran sport administrator Sam Ramsamy is set to return to SA’s Olympic Committee (Sascoc) to help arrange the troubled body’s overdue elections.

The 82-year-old Ramsamy said he planned to consult all sides. “I must make sure it gets done satisfactorily ... We need to resolve this.”

He was appointed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and will work alongside the Sascoc board.

The March 28 election was postponed indefinitely because of Covid-19.

But there were added complications, like acting president Barry Hendricks being suspended after an allegation that he and Tennis SA (TSA) president Gavin Crookes conspired to block the nomination of Ntambi Ravele, a TSA member.

Sport minister Nathi Mthethwa had asked the IOC and IPC to intervene in early April, but they initially declined.

Since then sports federations have been at war with the Sascoc board.

Nearly 30 bodies, led by Canoeing SA, wanted to vote the board out to get the ballot.

The Sascoc executive rejected the call, and when Canoeing declared a dispute, they dismissed that too.

Canoeing SA approached the IOC, which drew the ire of Sascoc’s new acting president, Aleck Skhosana.

It’s not clear exactly what prompted the IOC to step in now.

“As a government, we strive to give space to sport organisations to address their own challenges and to only intervene as a last resort,” Mthethwa said in a statement.

“However, being on the ground, we are best placed to sound alarms when we see shortcomings in the ability of sport administrators, to provide the kind of leadership required for stable and athlete-centered administration.”