Photograph by: Katherine Muck-Mere

Athletics clubs in the North West province have passed a motion of no confidence in former Athletics SA president Leonard Chuene, Athletics Central North West (ACNW) said in a statement on Friday.

Forty four clubs attended a special general meeting in Potchefstroom on Thursday night. It followed a report in the Sowetan last week where ACNW president Adam Motlagale expressed his support for Chuene and rejected SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee intervention in Athletics SA's affairs.

"ACNW general manager Ntsokolo Skweyiya scheduled the meeting after the required number of clubs requested the meeting and submitted motions of no confidence in Chuene and his ASA board, as well as in Motlagale and his ACNW Board," they said.

"A third motion expressed support for the Sascoc process."

They said the decision came after Motlagale "distributed SMS's to them instructing them to boycott the meeting".

Paul van der Merwe of the SA National Defence Force club was elected interim president and former Olympic star Hezekiël Sepeng interim deputy president.

The other interim board members are Philip Mokhutswane, Spring Phakathi, Moshiadiba Moeketsi, Thabo Kwapa, Jaco Greyling, Lappies Swanepoel, Rika Odendaal and Desiree Potgieter. Clyde Stoffberg and the former Olympic athlete Shaun Bownes were also co-opted.

Van der Merwe and Sepeng will represent ACNW Saturday at a Sascoc meeting in Johannesburg.

The interim board was tasked to arrange the scheduled annual general meeting for February 2010, review the constitution and manage the day-to-day activities in the province.

ASA's president and board were recently suspended after a Sascoc commission of inquiry. They have come under fire for the way they handled the controversy over athlete Caster Semenya's gender testing.