KONI seeks Rp 110b for more gold<\/p>\n
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Sports Council (KONI) announced a proposal for an
\nexpensive three-year sports development program here on Tuesday
\nwith the initial aim of a strong showing at the 2006 Asian Games.<\/p>\n
Called the 'Indonesia Rises' program, the three-year campaign
\nwill cost about Rp 110 billion (nearly US$13 million), according
\nto Djoko Pramono, a KONI official in charge of development
\naffairs.<\/p>\n
Djoko said that such an amount of money would be sufficient to
\ndevelop, train and recruit Indonesian athletes then can perform
\non a world-class level.<\/p>\n
He was accompanied by KONI Secretary General Djohar Arifin
\nHusin.<\/p>\n
Djohar said the financial need would be partly acquired via a
\nplanned fund-raising drive, which is expected to generate Rp 3
\nbillion a month.<\/p>\n
KONI has announced a partnership with PT Metropolitan Magnum
\nIndonesia to raise funds through tickets sales, which is expected
\nto start operating in the first quarter of this year.<\/p>\n
According to Djoko, who had made his presentation to the other
\nKONI officials, the development program, which also incorporates
\nKONI's preparation for the Athens Olympics in August and the 2005
\nSoutheast Asian (SEA) Games in Manila, will entail executing five
\nmain priorities for the athletes' preparation.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's sporting future has become the main concern
\nfollowing ever more dismal performances by the country's
\ndelegations in regional events.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, which used to be the dominant force a the SEA
\nGames, has finished in third place in the medal race for three
\nconsecutive times with the latest edition seeing the team end up
\nbehind Vietnam and Thailand.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's medal haul has also showed a declining trend at
\nthe Asian Games.<\/p>\n
With high hopes of making a turnaround in the next events,
\nDjoko said that the 'Indonesia Rises' program would prioritize
\nthe development of the top 100 athletes, and added that the total
\nnumber was subject to change depending on performance in both
\ntraining and competition.<\/p>\n
There is no time-table about when the project will be
\nofficially launched. But Djoko said they would commence as soon
\nas KONI chairman Agum Gumelar approved the details.<\/p>\n
Agum is on a business trip to the U.S. and is scheduled to
\nreturn on Friday.<\/p>\n
The second priority would be holding overseas comparative
\nstudies for local coaches who in an effort to make them more
\nprofessional.<\/p>\n
KONI has also promised incentives to five potential coaches of
\n42 sports and urged KONI-affiliated sports organizations to
\ninclude young, second-tier athletes in competitions.<\/p>\n
The program is likely to include a monthly subsidy of Rp 1
\nmillion for the athletes and Rp 2 million for the selected
\ncoaches for six months prior to their participation in the
\nevents.<\/p>\n
Moreover KONI would leave the training camp to respective
\nsports organizations, therefore there would be no need to
\nestablish a national training camp like in previous years.<\/p>\n
The program will also seek to initiate as many local
\ncompetitions as possible by the sports organizations.<\/p>\n
Djoko said that KONI was optimistic that the program could
\nboost the performance of local athletes.<\/p>",
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