Boksburg Stadium on track for IAAF certification
The latest facelift of Boksburg City Stadium’s athletics track is going according to schedule.
This is according to Trackmasters International land surveyor Matthew Cohen, who arrived in the country over the weekend of November 18 and 19 to test the track for dimensional accuracy, line marking accuracy and levels.
The upgrades are scheduled to be finalised on November 30.
Line marking of the track was due to be completed yesterday (November 27), after which Cohen is expected to deliver an approximate 50-page report to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Trackmasters International is an IAAF accredited laboratory – one of only 14 such labs in the world.
“Based on the report, they [the IAAF] will issue a certificate which proves that the facility meets the international standard,” said Cohen.
“So if records had to be broken here, it would be approved by the IAAF.”
Once the whole process is complete, feedback will be given to CK Sport Industries, the company tasked with the arena’s upgrade.
The whole process is expected to take a month.
This is Cohen’s 30th year of track marking, during which time he has worked on 15 tracks in South Africa.
He has certified around 200 tracks since the track certification system was introduced in 1999.
“The track is also loaded with SA junior event markings, so it’s very well equipped for children,” he said.
Asked by the Advertiser whether he was satisfied with the progress of the work so far, the Englishman replied: “Work is going great.”
The 50-year-old added that he loves it here; one of his favourite things about the county is biltong – not the kind of thing you’ll find on every shelf in England.
The Advertiser mistakenly spelt his surname as ‘Cowan’ instead of Cohen in a previous article on the upgrades; and he is indeed English, not German. – @SabeloBoksburg
