Hank McGregor Suspended from Canoeing

This email just went out on the South African paddling newsgroups:
STATEMENT BY CSA PRESIDENT

After the 2010 UNKOMAAS CANOE Marathon which was also the S.A. K2 River Championship, Hank McGregor physically attacked Jacques Theron, one of the winners of the marathon by hitting him with his fists.

The CSA Board appointed a disciplinary committee to deal with this matter and the matter was heard on Saturday, 20th March 2010.

Hank McGregor pleaded guilty to the charge of having contravened section 7 (c) of the Byelaw to rule 7 of the CSA Rules and Regulations and was found guilty of that charge.

The disciplinary Committee as well as the CSA Board accordingly imposed the following sentence namely that: "Mr McGregor is suspended from canoeing for a period of 12 months from the date of the incident, 6 months of which suspension is itself suspended on condition that Mr McGregor enrolls for and satisfactorily completes an Anger Management Course to the satisfaction of CSA".

Dated and signed.
Naas Fischer


Graham Bird
General Manager
Canoeing South Africa


I've heard that Hank has appealed against the suspension.

One can argue the merits / injustice of this. There are always two sides to every story and from what I have heard before Jacques can also be a bit "irritating" on a river sometimes!

I am sure there was some provocation but it was a bad reaction that will cost a professional paddler some money from lost winnings etc.

It says banned from Canoeing. CSA also controls Surfski in SA now so is Hank banned from all paddling events in SA or just K1 and K2 e.g Sprints, Marathon, Rivers.

Secondly, does this mean he is banned from Molokai, Mauritius Ocean Classic etc?

Thanks

Andrew

I spoke to Hank earlier today and he raised some interesting points.

He has appealed the sentence, but if the appeal is not upheld, he will be unable to participate in any surfski races held under the auspices of CSA or the ICF - which includes Durban.

As for other international races, right now neither Molokai nor Mauritius fall under the ICF, so he could participate in those races.

Cheers
Rob

Thanks Rob

is that all? just a punch up? i thought it was a 'roid bust or something!

just a punch up?

>> just a punch up?

Correct. Section 7(c) is pretty much a catch-all provision. The incident took place on the water but after the finish of the race, so no actual racing rules applied. Section 7 (c) reads,

7.In addition to disciplinary measures being taken by reason of a breach of the race rules or regulations, disciplinary action may also be taken on the following grounds:...
...c) Any action by any member, Club or Union of CSA which is contrary to the interests of CSA