South African Athletics Statisticians

The South African Athletics Statisticians (SAAS) is a voluntary non-profit organisation which was founded in 1952 by Harry Beinart, Alistair Matthews and Arrie Joubert to promote the maintenance of sound athletics statistics in South Africa.^[1] The organisation produces the South African Athletics Annual, a publication devoted to primarily South African athletics statistics but also international athletics results. The publication is now in its 64th edition and is edited by respected athletics writer Wesley Botton, and contains South Africa annual and all-time lists and records for senior, junior, youth and sub-youth athletes and the South African Athletes of the year.^[2] The South African Athletics Annual is an internationally recognised and respected athletics publication and has been described as "indispensable to anyone wishing to keep abreast of the most important developments in South African Athletics on a yearly basis."^[3] It was also a key reference in the only book published on the standard marathon in South Africa, A Century of the Marathon, by Riel Hauman.^[4]

The 2016 Edition is currently in preparation under the editorship of Wesley Botton and includes an Athletes Hall of Fame and a Coaches Hall of Fame. It also includes the Annual Beinart Award for the top ranked South African athlete on the world performance lists in the previous year. The award is made in honour of the doyen of South African athletics statisticians, Harry Beinart, and was first awarded to Zola Budd in 1983.

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