Don't pressure athletes too much: Psychologist

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's athletes for the 19th SEA Games should perform all out but not push themselves too hard, a psychology professor said yesterday.

Singgih D. Gunarsa, psychology professor and chairman of the Games psychology team, said athletes carried with them their own pressure to perform when they competed in events.

"They already have a burden, let's not make it heavier," he said.

Singgih said the field or court was the athlete's kingdom and they must not be influenced by other people in their domain.

"They have to act as if they were king during the match," he said.

The psychology team consists of 17 experts; three from the Army, three from the Police Force and the rest from universities, including Jakarta's University of Indonesia and Tarumanegara University, Bandung's Padjadjaran University and Surabaya's Airlangga University.

Singgih said the athletes had been preparing mentally for the Games since November 1996 and this had intensified for the event which begins Oct. 11 and ends Oct. 19.

"There are two main programs ... The first is the progressive relaxation training program which consists of respiration relaxation, concentration relaxation and improving motivation relaxation. The purpose is to control their emotions to reduce pressure," he said.

"The second is a visualization program in which athletes are trained to use their imagination to think of what they'll do during the match."

Psychologist Myrna Sukasah said that at the start of national training, which started on Nov. 1, 1996, many athletes had to deal with feelings of insecurity.

"They felt insecure because they were worried about joining the Games squad and about their study or jobs," she said.

"These problems influenced their performances until the final selection early this month," she said.

Earlier, the Games organizers competition department deputy Muhammad Sarengat said 1,041 gold medals, 1,041 silver medals and 1,200 bronze medals were being made.

The Games have 440 golds, 440 silvers and 558 bronzes on offer in 34 events.

Sarengat said the organizers would try hard not to have teams or individuals sharing the winning spots. "Tie breaks must be used to decide the real winner."

The organizers will tutor 966 referees, linesman and drug testing officials before the Games.

There will be 84 referees from non-participating countries, 465 national referees, 284 participating countries' referees, 41 technical delegates, 89 jury of appeal members and three medical jury members.

Sarengat expects all 10 participating countries will arrive for the event and all entered athletes will compete. (yan)