Jakarta to host National Junior Track and Field C'ships

Jakarta to host National Junior Track and Field C'ships

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The upcoming national event for young athletes attempts to
address a widespread problem across the country's sports scene --
regeneration. A total of 519 junior track and field athletes
across the country will participate in the National Junior
Championships at the Track and Field Stadium in Senayan, South
Jakarta, starting from Oct. 6 to Oct. 9.

Secretary-general of the Indonesian Track and Field
Association (PASI), Tigor Tanjung, said this competition is aimed
to seek young talent who excel in track and field events.

"To be honest, PASI has a regeneration problem since we don't
have many young athletes ... we need lots of young talent to
replace athletes like Supriati Sutono in the future," Tigor said,
during a press conference on Wednesday.

Tigor added that scholarships of Rp 300,000 (US$33.33) per
month will be awarded to the best 10 athletes from each region,
in order to help to maintain their studies while training in
their regions.

"We will continue to observe and evaluate these young athletes
every six months. They will continue to practice in their
regions. We can call them to enter the national training center
here if they can show their best performances later," Tigor said.

A highlight of the event will be the 60-meter sprint, where
102 junior athletes will compete in the event. However, female
athletes with the minimum height of 160 centimeters and 170 cm
for male athletes can only compete in this event.

"This is the first time for us to hold a 60-meter sprint
competition. It is part of our program to find young athletes
with good sprinting abilities," Tigor said.

He explained that sprinting is the core of every track and
field event, as every athlete needs to have a great sprinting
ability to succeed.

"A pole vaulter needs has to have a good sprint and also a
marathon runner because he has to sprint in the final lap of the
competition, so it is very important for track and field athletes
to have this ability," Tigor said.

Explaining the height limitation for the sprint event, Tigor
said the limitation is necessary so Indonesian athletes could
compete equally with foreign athletes in international
competitions.

He cited that in the 2003 Sea Games in Hanoi, Vietnam,
Indonesian athletes were smaller in size compared to other Asian
athletes.

"Taller athletes tend to have bigger strides, so they can run
faster compared to smaller athletes so it does count in the end,"
Tigor said.

With the average age of the participants at 16 years, Tigor
said that these young athletes would be able to participate in
the 2010 Asian Games.