Volleyball body expects clean sweep at Games

Volleyball body expects clean sweep at Games

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Volleyball Association is aiming
for a clean sweep at the 19th SEA Games here in October, after
failing to win any golds at the last Games in Chiang Mai,
Thailand.

"Our target, as set by the National Sports Council, is to win
all four golds at the Games. We'll try our best by preparing our
spikers well, both physically and in terms of skill," said
association Chairwoman Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, better known as
mbak Tutut, at the volleyball national congress yesterday.

Indonesia only won two bronze medals at the last games, the
country's worst volleyball performance in SEA Games history.
Previously, the volleyball team had won the men's gold medal on
four consecutive occasions since 1987 at the biennial event.

"Let's try our best to regain our glorious times," Tutut urged
the congress.

The association is grooming 16 male spikers, coached by Li
Qiujiang of China, while 20 female spikers are being trained by
Japan's Satoshi Matsunaga at the association's facilities at
Sentul in Bogor, West Java.

A national championship for both junior and senior players is
being prepared by the association in cooperation with the
Indonesian National Youth Committee and the Tiara Indonesia
Foundation.

Students c'ships

The first step toward the championship will be high school
championships in each province. Organizers hope these will be
held shortly after the General Election in May.

"The provincial event will pick the best players to team up
for the national championships," Tutut said. "The best in the
national events will be selected as future national spikers for
international events," she added.

Tutut, who also chairs the Tiara Indonesia Foundation, said
that President Soeharto, her father, has agreed to provide a
trophy for the national junior and senior championships.

The association plans to divide the country into eight areas,
each comprised of four or five provincial branches, to facilitate
the development of volleyball. Association officials are expected
to personally oversee the progress of the new groupings.

"You all have to report to me if some of officials don't come
to observe," Tutut said.

Some conference participants suggested that each area stage
internal championships for seniors, to compete for a trophy from
the association's chairwoman. The winner of that competition
would then represent the area at the national championships,
according to the proposal. A decision has yet to be reached by
the conference.

The division currently proposed to the association is as
follows:
* I: Aceh, North Sumatra and Riau;
* II: Jambi, West Sumatra and Bengkulu;
* III: South Sumatra, Lampung and Jakarta;
* IV: West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java;
* V: Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and East Timor;
* VI: West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and
South Kalimantan;
* VII: South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, North Sulawesi and
Central Sulawesi;
* VIII: Maluku and Irian Jaya.

There were calls from some conference participants that the
area division not place all of the provinces on Java in the same
group, with a view to boosting the development of volleyball in
other provinces.

"I know that Java should not be included in one group to
prevent it from dominating volleyball," said Tutut. "I'll leave
it to the commission to discuss." (yan)