Six universities initiate league sports

Six state and private universities across the country have joined forces to establish last week The Association of Collegiate Sports in Indonesia (ACSI) with an aim to introducing and developing university league sports in the country.

The founding universities are: Pelita Harapan University (UPC) of Karawaci, Tangerang, Banten; the University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta; Parahyangan University (Unpar) of Bandung, West Java; Petra University and Surabaya University, both of Surabaya, East Java; and Udayana University of Denpasar, Bali.

ACSI commissioner Steve Metcalfe said the association aimed to create new sports programs and improve friendship among its members.

"We want to initiate sports programs at the university level and develop systems and schedules like those that have been applied in universities abroad," said Metcalfe, who is also UPH's sports director.

He said the ACSI would promote an all-around approach to education -- that students maintain a good academic record as well as achievement in sports.

Meanwhile, the association would also require that students participating in ACSI competitions should have good academic standing.

Metcalfe said the ACSI would hold a men's basketball competition next year and in 2007, a women's basketball competition and a soccer match, all at the UPH campus in Karawaci.

The UPH has plans to develop a soccer field near its campus in anticipation of the soccer championship.

The competitions will be supported by Matahari Department Store and PT Broadband Multimedia, which is the licensed distributor of ESPN.

With the support of these companies, Metcalfe hoped that the ACSI could generate students who possessed both academic excellence and sporting abilities.

So far, the UPH only has a basketball team, which is a member of the University Student Basketball League and once hosted a national tournament. -- A. Junaidi