ASEAN Games attract little interest

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Since the opening ceremony on Sunday, the 12th ASEAN University Games have raised little interest, with only small numbers of local people turning up at events.

Taxi driver Hari Purnomo, who was parked by a kiosk near the Gelora Delta Stadium in Sidoarjo, said that he was not even aware about the event.

Sidoarjo, around 20 kilometers south of here, is hosting athletics, soccer and volleyball competitions. Meanwhile, Surabaya is holding the badminton, basketball, pencak silat, sepak takraw, swimming, tennis, and table tennis events.

"Are you serious ... there is a big sports event taking place here in Surabaya? I haven't seen many people coming to the Gelora Delta Stadium, not like during the 2000 PON," he said.

He was referring to the quadrennial, multi-event National Games, which Surabaya hosted in 2000.

Hari's query was reasonable given that there has been virtually no promotion for the event in Surabaya and its surrounding areas.

"If the organizing committee made more effort to promote the event, I think people like taxi drivers and street vendors would be able to earn more income," he said.

Only a few dozen spectators turned up at each of the badminton matches, which concluded on Monday. The same applied in the case of the track, tennis, table tennis and volleyball events.

The lackluster response to the University Games has not surprised the visitors from abroad.

The manager of the Thai athletics team, Tavorn Kamutsri, said that given the lack of promotion he had not expected large numbers of spectators at the venues.

"Well, I've seen nothing about this event on TV, in the newspapers, at the airport, so we can't expect large numbers of spectators. This is always a problem with the University Games," he said.

According to Kamutsri, spectators had also been few and far between during the 11th University Games in the Philippines two years ago.

Posters and banners advertising the Games, are only to be seen at the venues in the Gelora Delta Stadium, the Surabaya State University, and Airlangga University, despite the fact that a total of Rp 7 billion has been allocated on promotion.

In the absence of strong official support, therefore, it is hardly surprising that only a few people have turned up at the events.

While lacking promotion, the event has still drawn media attention.

Leading national daily Kompas is giving full-page coverage in its East Java edition while its rival Jawa Pos is also devoting quite a lot of space to the event.

Some 900 athletes and officials from ten countries in Southeast Asia are participating in this year's University Games, which will end on Sunday.

Some of the athletes in Surabaya participated in the Athens Olympics, like Indonesian sprinter Edi Zakaria, who is entered in the 110-meter hurdles, and Thai female high jump athlete Noeng Ruthai Chaipech.

Others also have experience in taking part in the region's major biennial event, the Southeast Asia (SEA) Games, like female 100-meter sprinter Deysi Sumigar of Indonesia, and male 400-meter hurdler Apisit Kuttivan of Thailand.