Athletics in the UK: The Rise and Fall of the BAF

89 A poisoned chalice? failed to show up for the final the following day, instead flying to Italy for a paid appearance in an event there. Technically, Jackson had met the selection criteria by taking part in the trials but the BAF took a dim view of this as it felt that Jackson had short changed the spectators and damaged the principle of the trials. He was called to Radford’s office where he received a dressing down; which he took very badly and vowed not to compete in Britain again. Later in the same year, Jackson, Linford Christie and John Regis, three crowd pullers, refused to compete at the important Crystal Palace grand prix and rubbed salt in the wound by strolling down the home straight in full view of the spectators and the media. During this period, the BAF management board was wrestling with its budgets and, as Treasurer, I was warning that cut backs were essential if the sport were to live within its means. My appeals to create new income sources had fallen on deaf ears and, in particular, my proposal for a national athlete registration scheme which could have generated substantial income, and which was being demanded by the Sports Council, had been opposed by the South of England Association. In fact, back in 1984, the AAA had successfully launched a national registration scheme and had built a membership roll of some 26,000. Unfortunately, the membership fee had been set at a totally inadequate £5 out of which insurance, physiotherapy and other promised benefits had to be funded and, as a result, the scheme lost money from the start and was abandoned after two years with losses of £70,000. This level of loss represented around £2.50 per member and if only a more realistic fee of, say, £10 (still good value for the benefits) had been charged the result would have been totally different and the scheme could have been developed to become a major source of income. A golden opportunity was sadly missed. By now I had now spent the best part of ten, often difficult, years at the financial helm and decided that I would not seek re-election at the March 1996 AGM. Wearily, I stepped down as Honorary Treasurer and the South’s Martin Evanson took over. At the same AGM, Arthur McAllister retired as President and the popular Mary Peters, Olympic pentathlon champion in 1972, was elected in his place. I had mixed feelings about stepping down as, at long last, the BAF was making some serious attempts to address its financial predicament and Radford’s lobbying to change the rules of the National Lottery