Bowling association undecided on venue for SEA Games

JAKARTA (JP): With two bowling centers under construction and another being renovated, the Indonesian Bowling Association is yet to decide which to use for October's 19th SEA Games.

The favorite venues are the 10-pin Galeria Kosmik Boling Kodel being built at Megamall Pluit and the Ancol bowling center, which is being renovated.

Association chairman Oke F Supit said yesterday the two North Jakarta venues were expected to be ready by the end of next month.

"After the centers in Ancol and Pluit are finished, we'll decide which is best to stage the SEA Games," he said.

Another center being built in Cilandak Plaza, South Jakarta, was scheduled to be ready in September, he said.

Oke said that nine male and nine female athletes who were training at the Ancol center would also use the Pluit center from April.

American James William Godman took a one-year contract in January to coach the team.

Oke said the association would select six male and six female bowlers next month for the national team.

The association expects to win only one of the 12 bowling gold medals on offer at the biennial event. At the last Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Indonesia won only one bronze medal.

National bowler Yani Ruzgar, who is training at the Pluit bowling center, urged the center's management to give national athletes discounts to train there.

"If we aren't attending national training, we always have to pay to play each game," she complained.

Yani spends Rp 40,000 (US$16.7) for 10 games every time she trains.

"I practice twice or three times a week and I have to pay all my expenses," she said.

The association is pinning its Games hopes on older bowlers such as Yani and Poppy Tambis.

The association plans to send bowlers to international events in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong in June and July.

KA Hidayat, a director of PT Megamulti Sportindo which manages Galeria Kosmik, said the Rp 14 billion bowling center, which has 36 lanes, was expected to be completed on April 20.

Eight national rowers in training at the Jatiluhur dam, West Java, are waiting for six new boats to help them prepare for the Games.

They said the old boats they were using for training would affect their performance.

Coach Keffy said the entire team was rowing and doing other training everyday.

The Indonesian Rowing Association is scheduled to hold final selection trials in August.

All the rowers will train and compete in Australia or Hong Kong in June and July.

The Games' rowing, canoeing, kayaking and dragon boat racing events will be held at the Jatiluhur dam. (yan)