Megawati to open IBF meet

Megawati to open IBF meet

Novan Iman Santosa, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is scheduled to open the 65th
Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Badminton
Federation (IBF) at the State Palace on Sunday, a top Indonesian
badminton official said on Saturday.

"This is the first time that a head of state will open an IBF
AGM. Several ministers will also attend the opening ceremony,"
Sulistyanto, the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) chief
in charge of international relations, said on the sidelines of
the Thomas and Uber Cups now underway at the Bung Karno Indoor
Stadium in Jakarta.

An opening session of the AGM will be attended by Megawati and
10 delegates, including PBSI chairman Chairul Tanjung and IBF
president Korn Dabbaransi. They will be discussing various issues
surrounding badminton.

The AGM participants will then move to the Jakarta Convention
Center, next to the badminton stadium, to discuss various issues
related to the development of badminton

"One of the issues the meeting will discuss is a
recommendation to move the IBF secretariat," said Sulistyanto.
The IBF headquarters is currently located in Cheltenham, England.

He said several new homes were being considered for the
secretariat, including Barbados, Kuala Lumpur, Lausanne and
Singapore.

Asian countries have proposed that the IBF's headquarters be
relocated to Asia in the hopes that this would reduce operational
costs.

If the move took place, it is expected that part of the money
saved could be used for development activities.

"We can save some US$800,000 to $850,000 if we relocate to
Asia due to lower costs. This (remaining) money could be set
aside in a development fund," said Sulistyanto.

He said the development fund could reach $1 million, with
subsidies from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

European countries, especially Denmark, are pushing to
relocate the secretariat to Lausanne, Switzerland, which is close
to the IOC headquarters.

Sulistyanto said the campaign to move the secretariat to
Lausanne stemmed from concerns that badminton could be dropped
from the Olympics, and that having the IBF's headquarters in
Lausanne would facilitate the lobbying of IOC officials.

"However, it would be even more expensive to have the
headquarters there," he said.

Sulistyanto also revealed plans to set up an Asian training
center in Guangzhou, China, in an effort to help badminton
develop in Asian countries where the sport has yet to develop a
foothold.

Another important issue that the meeting will discuss is how
to revitalize interest in badminton, with the assumption that
there has been a loss of interest in the sport in badminton
strongholds such as Indonesia and Malaysia, he said.

"We are looking to combine badminton and tourism at the 2005
World Championships in Anaheim, California," said Sulistyanto.

He said it would be invaluable for the development of the
sport if it could catch on in the huge American market.