KONI considers age limit for PON
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Sport Council (KONI) is considering an age limit for the National Games (PON) in response to criticism that young athletes are being shut out of the quadrennial sporting showcase.
KONI secretary-general Djohar Arifin said on Wednesday the issue of an age limit for PON would be discussed during a meeting in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, next February.
"There have been requests from our provincial chapters to discuss the issue," Djohar said.
Hans-Peter Thumm, an athletic consultant in an Indonesia- Germany cooperative project, has said that young athletes were generally deprived of the opportunity to compete at the recently ended PON in Palembang, South Sumatra, because of the presence of so many older athletes.
He also criticized the event for becoming a dubious "market" for aging athletes who were lured into competing for a province with promises of huge cash bonuses.
"While there is a lack of competition in nearly every sport in Indonesia, PON has become a lost chance for juniors to display their potential," Thumm said in an interview with The Jakarta Post last week.
He suggested that if PON wanted to make a real contribution to sports development, the event should be limited to athletes under the age of 21.
Swimmer Richard Sam Bera, 33, judoka Krisna Bayu, 28, and gymnast Jonathan Sianturi, 33, were among the older athletes featured at the Palembang PON, where Jakarta's sporting contingent emerged with the most medals.
While the three proved they can still compete by winning two gold medals each in their respective sports, their inclusion in the event was seen by some of robbing younger athletes of the chance to compete.
Djohar said aging athletes accounted for 40 percent of the about 6,500 athletes who competed in 41 sports in Palembang, adding that KONI would be looking to reduce that number.
"The idea of limiting the age of athletes in PON is a good one, as provincial administrations would then have to focus more on the development of young athletes," he said.
"Soccer and basketball organizations have implemented regulations that only allow players under the age of 23 to play compete in PON. Other sport organizations should dare to follow suit," Djohar said.
The scheme, if implemented, would also be expected to prevent athletes from hiring out their services to provincial administrations looking to snap up as many medals as possible.
Krisna Bayu is an example of an athlete changing allegations easily. Before competing for South Sumatra in this most recent PON, Krisna competed for Central Java and West Java.
While applauding the idea of an age limit, senior sports observer M.F. Siregar said it was a "challenge that KONI must handle in the future".
He said the necessity of an age limit was more urgent in swimming, gymnastics, and track and field, which traditionally account for the bulk of the medals in multisports events.
KONI, according to Djohar, is also considering the possibility of holding the National Games every two years and reducing the number of sports.
The next PON is scheduled to be held in East Kalimantan in 2008.