Runners compete in the men\'s 3,000-meter steeplechase final of the 2019 Athletics Championship on 7 Aug. 2019 at Pakansari Stadium in Bogor, West java. Eliaser Gamase of Riau won the race, after record-holder Atjong Tio Purwanto of East Java fell during the race to finish fourth.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — A year after the euphoria of the 2018 Asian Games, national sports is still plagued with classic problems such as funding availability, delayed disbursements, duality in management and scouting and recruitment difficulties. The current approach to coaching, which falls under the direct management of each sport, is considered the most appropriate at this time, although it needs much improvement.
What is needed now is the full commitment of all coaches and sports administrators, since Indonesia has sporting events in place at every level for developing athletes, from student sports weeks to the National Games (PON), and from sports academies to Student Training Education Centers (PPLPs) and to clubs.
"Our sports system is fine. We do not lack platforms for developing athletes. What is lacking is the commitment. If all is managed optimally, we will certainly give birth to many world champions in every sport," Indonesia Athletics Association (PASI) secretary-general Tigor M. Tanjung said in Jakarta last week.
Tigor said Indonesia had a legal umbrella in Law No. 3/2005 on the National Sports System. The government’s focus on human development in the next five years could give momentum to improving national sports.
"We would be starting over from the beginning if we change the existing system and achieve get nothing," he said. The system would run optimally if the government and the management of each sport were committed to it. Tigor believed that the level of commitment remained low, such as in meeting the provision that the state was responsible for training athletes.
Separately, Indonesia Sports Committee (KONI) chairman Marciano Norman said that each sport management provided adequate the coaching fir athletes. However, clearer regulations were needed to regulate the duties of policymakers. The management of each sport understood how to scout and recruit athletes, but needed to understand that competitions needed to be held regularly and continuously. KONI was there to provide supervision and guidance for each sport.
Effective
The Youth and Sports Ministry deemed that each sport provided effective coaching to increase its achievements, as evident in the 2018 Asian Games.
"After the Asian Games, we evaluated five main points. The first point is that budget disbursement to each sport must be faster and bureaucracy must be cut," Youth and Sports Ministry secretary Gatot S. Dewa Broto said in Jakarta.
The second point was to set more realistic sports targets and provide up-to-date reports. The third point was to provide better sports arenas following the Asian Games.
The sports ministry was aware of the fourth point of duality in sports management that contributed to the problem in disbursing funds to each sport, which had to present legal documentation of its management board before the funds were disbursed. The final point was a lack of second-tier athletes.
Duality in management occurred, for example, in table tennis. Indonesia Table Tennis Association (PP PTMSI) chairman Oegroseno said that the sports ministry had not allocated a budget for the PP PTMSI because of the duality between the PP PTMSI chaired by Oegroseno and the PB PTMSI chaired by Peter Layardi Lay. This had a negative impact on athlete training.
According to Oegroseno, PP PTMSI had won the duality dispute at the state administrative court (PTUN) in 2014. "If the government is not firm, this issue could become a major problem in national sports development," said Oegroseno.
Meanwhile, sports observer Fritz E. Simanjuntak believed that the current sports management system was less than ideal because of overlapping policies and too many people involved in its management. He suggested that sports coaching be managed by a competent body, like it is in Australia. Young athletes were coached by the relevant sports organization, and elite athletes were sent to independently and professionally managed national training centers. (DRI/DNA/PDS)
