South Australian Athletics League board stands down after Bay Sheffield runner-up Tom Sclanders challenges disqualification
The entire board of the South Australian Athletics League has resigned as a legal challenge is mounted against a historic disqualification in the state’s richest foot race.
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The entire South Australian Athletic League committee has resigned just days after being served a summons in sprinter Tom Sclanders’ Supreme Court fight against his disqualification from the Bay Sheffield Gift in December.
All positions on the board, which included former Adelaide Crows footballer David Pitman, pictured, were declared vacant following a meeting the day after president Paul Stallan was served with a court summons.
Sclanders was sensationally stripped of his runner-up prizemoney of $2500 when a SAAL investigation determined he had seriously breached the rules of the competition, with inconsistent performances.
The first placegetter to be disqualified in the 133-year history of the state’s richest footrace, he said his reputation had been tarnished and his mental health had declined significantly.
The matter has been listed for the Supreme Court on June 19, with former SAAL sprinter of the year and Bay Sheffield finalist Patrick Liptak representing Sclanders.
High-profile Victorian QC Paul Hayes is also among Sclanders’ legal team.
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The disqualification prompted a call for an extraordinary meeting of the league, when the committee would be requested to stand aside and temporary office bearers appointed. However, the meeting scheduled in March was postponed because of COVID-19.
Nominations for the committee have been now been sought with the annual meeting on June 30.
Long-time SAAL competitor and Adelaide Footy League umpiring manager Colin Rowston is frontrunner to take on the president’s role. Stallan declined to comment.
The SAAL threatened to rehandicap Sclanders 0.75m behind his mark after winning his semi-final of the Bay Sheffield at Glenelg, only for his coach Paul Young to lodge a successful appeal. Sclanders was narrowly beaten by Tomas Semmler in the final.
In a statement after the disqualification, the league said: “To assist with the obligation of ensuring the integrity of its races and investigating seriously inconsistent performances, over the last year the SAAL has spent significant resources to develop and implement a handicapping and stewarding IT model.”
Young has been a vocal critic of the new model, claiming it was flawed and made handicapping too volatile.