To Atlanta with hope

To Atlanta with hope

Should we send our best athletes to the Atlantic Olympic
Games?

Pessimism is now prevalent in the country's sports circles,
and many doubt if Indonesia will even snatch a medal. The results
of the 1995 SEA Games would seem to justify that pessimism. Not
only did our team fail to win first place, but the champion was
far ahead of the runner-up in collecting medals.

Still, I think it would be wise for Indonesia to send its best
athletes to the Olympics. To win medals there might be a pipe
dream, but Atlanta should at least give our athletes a chance to
break their own records. More exposure and experience in
international sports events is imperative.

The main culprit of the failure in the recent SEA Games seems
to be something intangible, i.e. the consumptive and easy
lifestyle common among many high-income earners and well-to-do
people.

One indication of the declining ethos in sports is the fast
dwindling number of grass fields near school buildings and
suburban areas. In the 1960s and 1970s we still had enough
grounds for sports activities. Now we witness ostentatious
displays of "high" lifestyles on golf courses and in other
exclusive facilities.

With due respect to the government's efforts to develop
sports, the impression, hopefully a wrong one, is that work done
so far to promote sports have been patchy and more a reaction to
public criticism. The government's program of making sports part
of the nation's development efforts is a laudatory one. Under
such a program the youths should be encouraged to consume more
beef, fresh milk, fish and fresh vegetables. Fresh milk, for
instance, should be distributed free to all school children, at
least twice a week.

In addition, physical education should start in primary school
and be a compulsory subject. A national program is necessary to
produce qualified sports teachers.

Youths should be urged and encouraged to adopt frugal and more
spartan lifestyles. This would be a gigantic program requiring
long term national efforts. Big corporations should be involved,
not only for their financial assistance, but also for their moral
and social support in reorienting commercials that encourage
wasteful expenditures.

Sports should be brought closer to the hearts of the people.
Only a sports-minded society can breed potential champions. In
the era of globalization, sports play an increasingly effective
role in promoting mutual understanding among nations. Sports
records and championships, not military arsenals, should be one
of the obsessions of peace loving nations.

To conclude, it is good to give an example of how many of us
look at sports and games. But look at the cigarette commercials
at local soccer and other sporting matches. Why not milk or other
innocuous products? Smoking is an anathema to the world of
sports, isn't it?

SOEGIO SOSROSOEMARTO

Jakarta