Jakarta to hast rock climbing meet

Jakarta to hast rock climbing meet

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will host the 5th Asian Rock Climbing
Indoor Championships scheduled here in mid-November.

Chairman of the Indonesian Rock Climbing Federation Setiawan
Djodi said on Wednesday that Japan, South Korea, China, Chinese
Taipei, Australia, India, Hong Kong, Iran, Malaysia and Singapore
will be among the participating countries.

The championships will be held in one of the many sports halls
in Senayan. Harry Sulistiarto, a federation official told The
Jakarta Post yesterday that "Istora Senayan has offered to
accommodate the championships but the tennis indoor stadium is
also another possible alternative."

Harry said the championships have to be staged indoors so the
participants won't have to risk possible wet November weather.

The rock used for climbing will be artificial rock measuring
at least 15 meters in length and four meters in width. Scoring by
four judges will be based on degree of difficulty, speed and
movements.

Harry said top Indonesian climbers will not automatically be
fielded in the championships. They must first prove themselves at
the 14th National Games in September where rock climbing will be
featured as an exhibition event.

"Those finishing first to sixth in each gender at the National
Games deserve to take part in the Asian championships," Harry
said.

As host, Indonesia is entitled to field six climbers in each
gender in the championships while the other participating
countries are entitled to only three.

National climbers with the best performances in the November
championships will have a chance to represent Indonesia to the
World Cup rock climbing series in December in Rumania.

Indonesian climbers made their first outing in an Asia-Oceania
rock climbing championships in Canberra, Australia in 1991 where
two of them, Aan and Deden, managed to finish fourth and fifth
respectively.

In the first Asian rock climbing championships in Seoul in
1992, Ronald Mamaringgi finished fifth. Ronald's best performance
was at the championships in China one year later where he
finished second.

The Indonesian Rock Climbing Federation was set up in Apr. 21,
1988. It was accepted as a member of the National Sports Council
on Jan. 8, 1994. The Federation's administration, however, has
just been formally installed by the council's chairman Wismoyo
Arismunandar, last Wednesday. Setiawan Djodi was unanimously
elected the federation's chairman in 1994 after financially
rescuing the federation which was on the verge of bankruptcy in
1993. (arf)