Lessons for Future International Sports Events

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Central Java athletes are paraded in jeeps down Jl. Pandanaran on Tuesday (4/9/2018) in Semarang. Seventeen the 58 Central Java athletes who competed in the 2018 Asian Games claimed medals for Indonesia, consisting of 5 gold, 6 silver and 14 bronze medals. They also received bonuses for their achievements from the Central Java administration.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Behind Indonesia’s successful organization of the Asian Games, were several problems that disrupted the multisport event’s smoothness, including venue and organizational preparedness. These should serve as lessons for future international sports events.

Preparations at several venues were ongoing just a day before the Games began. At a handful of venues, namely for bridge, table tennis, boxing and gymnastics, preparations were sped up overnight. Another obstacle included the delayed arrival of equipment of up to several days before the start of events, namely gymnastics, fencing, wushu, handball and volleyball.

These problems had the management of sports associations worried. The handball venue was not even 100 percent completed when the first matches were played. Several elements, including lighting, warm-up tents and organizers’ uniforms, were not available.

Indonesian Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) sports affairs deputy Harry Warganegara said venues’ preparedness had been a problem at the start of the Games, due to the delayed arrival of equipment. “The obstacles were with the distributor. The exchange rate had gone up by 10 percent, resulting in price hikes for the equipment. Local distributors did not have enough money and the equipment’s arrival was delayed,” Harry told Kompas in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“The organizers and distributors were not anticipating the exchange rate hike. We were a little bit overwhelmed for a time,” he said.

Outside of equipment issues, ticket sales were also problematic. Online ticket sales through Kiostix, for instance, were chaotic as the server went down several time. The public had difficulty in accessing, buying or confirming ticket purchases. Those with e-tickets later found it difficult to exchange them for official tickets at the ticketing booths.

The solution of partnering with online sales portal Blibli.com helped resolve the ticketing chaos. Offline ticket sales were not properly managed and ticketing booths were often overwhelmed by long queues.

There were also problems with the transportation of athletes, officials and spectators. At Jakabaring Sports City (JSC) in Palembang, South Sumatra, a limited number of buses resulted in spectators and journalists having to wait in long lines.

Inasgoc transportation director Purnomo said there had been problems with the punctuality of buses reserved for athletes and spectators in reaching the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports complex and the JSC.

“We tried to add more buses. At the GBK, we deployed 20 buses inside and outside the sports complex. In Jakabaring, we deployed 20 microbuses and buses to transport the athletes between the athletes village and sports venues,” he added.

Harry said Inasgoc had apologized to China after its national flag fell down during the medal ceremony at a swimming event. The apology was personally made to the Chinese chef de mission and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

Asian Para Games

These all should be lessons for improvement, especially ahead of the Asian Para Games, which will run from Oct. 6 to 13.

Indonesian Asian Para Games Organizing Committee (Inapgoc) chairperson Raja “Okto” Sapta Oktohari said he would fix these problems, including the management of venues, transportation and ticketing. He added that Inapgoc would also ensure that all venues were disabled friendly for athletes and spectators.

“We wish for a humanitarian legacy, namely that Indonesia is deemed friendly towards disabled people,” Okto said in Surakarta, Central Java, on Tuesday.

On ticketing, Inapgoc said there would be four ticket categories with a number of limitations. A quota would be imposed on tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies. Tickets for events would apply a “first come, first serve” system. Inapgoc added that tickets would be free for disabled people.

Its sports affairs director, Fanny Riawan, said all sports events would be safe for athletes and spectators. Medical facilities would also be available at the venues.

(KEL/DRI/DNA/ANG/E19/E16)