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