380 to compete at junior athletics championships

380 to compete at junior athletics championships

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Junior Track and Field Championship will start
next week with the organizers aiming to scout the country's
future talents.

Around 380 athletes from 25 provinces and 11 student training
centers (PPLP) will take part in the championships, which will
run from Nov. 12 to 14 at the track and field stadium in the Bung
Karno Sports Complex.

"The tournament will provide young athletes with the
opportunity to test their skills and improve their performance,"
organizing committee chairman Sumartoyo Martodiharjo announced at
a media conference here on Wednesday.

"A monitoring team will be in charge to sort out potential
talent to be recruited for a long-term national training camp,"
said Sumartoyo, who is also a chief of the Indonesian Amateur
Athletics Association (PASI) and is involved in tournament and
refereeing affairs.

The media conference started two hours late due to a heavy
downpour. PASI's top officials, who were to have joined the
gathering, failed to turn up and did not provide any explanation
for their absence.

In an attempt to clamp down on age falsification, the
organizers said they would demand that team officials submit
authentic birth documents of their athletes.

The tournament will feature 44 events including the newly
introduced heptathlon and decathlon.

Athletes from training centers may compete under the flags of
the centers where they were being groomed but the medals won
would be for the provinces where they lived.

Defending champion Central Java will compete as the largest
contingent comprising 46 athletes -- 38 from the province and 8
from local training centers.

Fielding only three athletes, East Nusa Tenggara will be the
smallest team.

Central Java expects a tough challenge from traditional foes
West Java and East Java as well as dark horse West Nusa Tenggara.

"Central Java, I guess, remains the prominent stronghold of
Indonesian junior athletics given its already popular training
centers. West Java and East Java are beginning to show their
strength," Sumartoyo said.

Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, the newly established
provinces of North Maluku, Gorontalo and Banten will be absent
from the competition.