Nicolas Macrozonaris' second appeal of his carding denial was shot down by an independent arbitrator last week, forcing the former two-time Canadian 100m champion to move forward with an appeal that will be administered by Sport Canada. Athletics Canada (AC), the governing body in Canada for the sport of track & field, provides two qualifications for attaining carded status; a status that not only proffers financial consideration, but also benefits such as massages and other treatments. An athlete must qualify for a card on an annual basis. One of the qualification standards is performance based, the other a medical card available to injured athletes. As Macrozonaris did not meet the performance standard in 2005-- his sub-par performances for the year clearly attest to this point-- it is the medical card question, and whether he was in a position to qualify for it, that is at the heart of the dispute between the two parties. Macrozonaris insists that he suffered a groin injury in May of 2005-- an injury whose healing time can vary greatly from athlete to athlete-- and that the injury precluded him from training and running at an optimal level. AC counters that Macrozonaris did not notify them of his injury within a statutorily prescribed timeframe, and therefore was ineligible for the medical card. When contacted by HellenicAthletes, Les Gramantik, Director of Speed and Power Programs at Athletics Canada, offered several comments. "…indeed we believe in Mr. Macrozonaris' abilities, however, the carding system does not operate on subjective evaluations, there are performance requirements needed for one to stay carded.
"Regarding the medical consideration for carding, our document states that: "currently carded athletes, upon determining that they are no longer able to maintain normal high performance training for a period longer than 4 months must submit a Medical application within 30 days." We did not receive documentation from Mr. Macrozonaris or his support group within the required time frame indicating a medical condition. Perhaps there has been verbal communication at some levels but that is not sufficient for one to obtain the medical card," said Gramantik. The key question therefore appears to be one of timing amid AC regulatory legalities-- when did Macrozonaris determine that he would no longer be able to maintain normal training for a period longer than 4 months, and did he submit his medical application within 30 days of that date? Gramantik explained that the basic intent of the medical card is to cover serious injuries that prevent athletes from training for an extended period of time. He offered an example of an athlete who returned from the Commonwealth Games with a broken femur and who advised AC immediately that he would be unable to train for a long period-- a prime example he explained as to why a medical card exists in the first place. The example given by Gramantik implies an early notification of AC. Given the nature of certain injuries, however, an athlete might be hard-pressed to be in a position to make the assessment necessary for an early notification, arguably one that would be easy enough in the case of a broken leg but perhaps not so for a tricky injury like a groin pull that has been known to have a mind of its own. Some cases may even involve medical advice such as week to week and even month to month assessments, making it all the more difficult for an athlete to meet the AC 30 day guidelines based on a "upon determining" date that might at best be a grey-area in some cases. When asked about cases where an athlete is unable to make the four month determination, given the nature of the injury and therefore potentially missing the window of opportunity for a medical card, Gramantik offered the following: "...this is only possible when the support group is unable or unprepared to make a decision about the health of the athlete in time. "Athletics Canada is not equipped to assess individual injuries, so each athlete must depend upon his or her Performance Enhancement Team's advice. In my personal experience of 35 years of coaching, the advice to stop training is often more valuable than to continue to struggle," explained Gramantik. While no rule or regulation can be written to encompass all possibilities, there does not appear to be an AC support net in place for those athletes caught up in a un-orthodox situation, relegating them to what might be classified as a no-man's land, just when they would most need assistance. By the time Macrozonaris sent in his medical application, it was deemed by AC to have been filed too late.
Gramantik went on to say that "…the medical card is not intended for, and I am by no way suggesting that this is the case for Mr. Macrozonaris, that when an athlete completes a whole season than at the end he or she applies for medical consideration due to lack of performances." And therein lies what is perhaps the real issue in this case, an issue of trust and communication. If so, it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to relations between Canadian track athletes and the federation that has a mandate to support them.
Reprinted courtesy of HellenicAthletes.com http://www.hellenicathletes.com/news.php?news_id=39 |
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