Fear of SARS prompts tryout cancellations<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Amateur Athletics Association (PASI) has canceled
\nits plan to give its athletes outings in neighboring countries
\ndue to the threat of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an
\nofficial said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Tigor Tanjung, who is the secretary-general of PASI, said they
\nhad abandoned the tryout plan, which would involved trips to the
\nVietnam Open, Philippines Open, Thailand Open and Asian Cross
\nCountry Championships in India.<\/p>\n
All the events were scheduled for May.<\/p>\n
\"Except for India, we still hope that they will postpone the
\nevents until later. The rescheduling will have to take account of
\nthe development of SARS. India has scrapped its event,\" Tigor
\nsaid during the announcement of the Riau 10K here.<\/p>\n
Tigor said they might be in for a two-month vacuum of tryouts
\nduring May and June, and that this would affect the preparation
\nof athletes for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam this
\nDecember.<\/p>\n
\"We have yet to think of an option for making up for the loss
\nof time. We are just telling the athlete to train hard to try to
\nkeep up their competitive edge,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the maiden Riau 10K, which will be staged in Riau,
\nin the eastern part of Sumatra Island, was announced with Tigor
\nsaying that the Rp 250 million (US$27,777) marathon competition
\ncould serve as a domestic tryout for the country's athletes.<\/p>\n
PASI has drawn up a list comprising 10 men's and 10 women's
\nrunners for the competition. The contenders, according to Tigor,
\nare the top-ranked athletes for the past three months.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fear-of-sars-prompts-tryout-cancellations-1447893297",
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