Six universities initiate league sports

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