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.