The first time !
At the 9th. Pacific Mini Games held last year (2013) in Wallis and Futuna (refer earlier story about the first Decathlete), sprinter John Ruuka was unfortunately entered as an OFFICIAL, not as an ATHLETE, and so, in spite of travelling to Wallis, he could not compete.
This time !
For the World Indoor Championships (WIC) due to be held in Sopot, Poland, in March 2014, the intention was for John to compete in the Mens' 60m. sprint, as all previous athletes travelling to WIC have done.
Visa complications - a chronic problem !
Unfortunately, although the necessary application forms (see images), for Australian Transi visa and Schengen visa for Poland, were made available, with other invitations, insurance documents, and passport, before the end of January this year, no-one prepared the essential itinerary which has to be submitted with visa applications.
In investigating the background to this situation, it has become obvious that IAAF Member Federations (MFs) are expected to calculate the maximium time period when they will need a visa for each country, and thus at least advise the expected arrival and departure dates. For host countries of World Athletics Series (IAAF WAS) events like the WIC, this would usually be the dates when the hosts expect delegations to arrive and depart and thus when they provide free or subsidised accommodation.
Some Immigration authorities e.g. Australia, require detailed flight information and so, possibly months ahead, MFs would have to use the flight schedules current at that time, even though these might change later. At least that way MFs could use accurate (at the time of application) information to complete the visa application form(s).
Hard copy - or better on-line ?
At the moment, the problem is caused because many countries (e.g. the Schengen area) demand applications to be made in hard copy, usually transported by courier to save time. Then they also demand a long time to process the applications. If all this could be done on-line (as it clearly can), it would save MFs considerable time and expense. For the WIC in Poland, 93 MFs (from an IAAF membership of 200+) would have to apply for Schengen visas OUTSIDE THEIR OWN COUNTRY !
When the actual cost of each visa is added in, another saving for MFs (employed by only some hosts) is to offer visas but waive the fee. This should become a universal practice for IAAF events.
Last Modified on 24/02/2014 07:47