No talent scouting system in RI: Thumm

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With a population of about 220 million, Indonesia has the potential for international sporting success but lacks a system of identifying athletic talent, a German athletic expert said on Tuesday.

Hans Peter Thumm, speaking to The Jakarta Post after the announcement of the Indonesia-Germany partnership on sports development in Jakarta, said Indonesia had a huge number of athletes.

"But you have no system to find them. And this is why we (Indonesia-Germany) are working with schools," he said.

Thumm, 55, is in Indonesia for a two-year contract, which could be extended for another two years. The partnership, which coincides but is unrelated to the arrival of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for a two-day state visit on Tuesday, relates to cultural agreements signed in 1985.

Toho Cholik Mutohir, the director-general of sports at the Ministry of National Education, told a media conference that the partnership would focus on the development of basic sports at schools with the main goal of finding talent across the country.

"Mr. Thumm will work as a consultant for two years. If deemed impressive and successful, we may go for another two years," Toho, who is also deputy chairman of the National Sports Council (KONI), said.

Thumm said he would need four years to identify talent, saying the first step to helping develop sports would be to empower the people.

"I study the situation. Based on the study, data and information, we will build a four-year strategy, which will be realized point by point.

"With the strategy, we always start with the education of people as without manpower you can't run any system. That means conducting training for teachers, development of programs will be the first step," he said.

"After four years, there will really be development. Once you have established the strategy and the people are educated, then you can go to the second step; that is to select talent throughout the country.

"We want to start slowly but with quality and end up with the results," he added.

Thumm, whose arrival in Jakarta follows a four-year stint in Malaysia, said many sports associations were not aware of the significance of basic sports development with high-level performance.

"The old saying from international experience is that if you want to produce one Olympic winner in a particular event, you need in this particular event about 700 talents.

"The broader the base you can build, the more chances you have to end up at the top," Thumm said.

Thumm's job will involve traveling throughout the country to select between 600 to 700 talented athletes.