Student – Athlete, High Jumper Ushan Thiwenka Perera
Ushan during a competition in Sri Lanka - File pic
In writing about Ushan Thiwenka Perera, my purpose is twofold; one is to confirm that Ushan has the potential to qualify as the fourth high jumper from Sri Lanka to compete in the Olympic Games. He is, as of April 2021, ranked fourth in the world. Many of the outdoor track meets are yet to come. Ushan will be competing in the Oregon University Invitational on April 21. It is open only for University athletic teams this year.
Ushan has the potential to win a gold medal in high jump at the 2022 Asian Games and medal in the Commonwealth Games and subsequent Asian Athletic Championships. It is necessary for Sri Lanka Athletics, the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Sports to support Ushan with the sustenance he needs to successfully complete his Degree in Commerce and perform his best in competitions in the USA and in international competitions.
My other purpose is to inform athletes, other sportsperson, school teachers and administrators, sports coaches, sports’ governing associations and the Ministry of Sports that all sportspersons with abilities to perform in their sports at provincial, national and international competitions also have the potential to excel at University or Tertiary Education. Those who doubt it can check to see the educational qualification of those sportspersons who represented the United States and won medals at the Olympic Games in the past. Except in boxing, all other sports participants were either university students or graduates of universities in the United States.
One of the main reasons for such achievement is that a student in high schools or universities, to represent their school or university, in any sports, need to maintain a credit pass in all subjects taken at the end of the previous semester or trimester (term). Students, teachers and coaches ensure that their sportspersons keep up with their studies. University Sports Departments monitor the performance of their sportspersons in all subjects. If the student performs below ‘credit pass’ at mid-term they arrange tutors to help the students learn well.
Student-sportspersons are consumed by their desire to practice well and perform to win to the extent when they sit down to read and do homework assignments they think and go through in their mind the process of the technique and performance in competitions instead of focusing on their reading and homework assignments. As they fall behind in their learning, academic performance in examinations suffers. The student-sportspersons enjoy practicing and participating in sports that they will make the effort to earn the ‘credit pass’ grade in all their subjects. Seldom does our schools or coaches monitor the academic performance of sportspersons at mid-term and arrange tutors to help them overcome their problems. While other students attend tuition centres after school and weekends, sportspersons practice their sport and are involved in competitions and travel to venues.
In 1961, when I returned after graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles, I proposed such a practice to the Ministry of Education and to some principals. Their response was that such a regulation will make ineligible the best school sportsmen, it would result in their school not fielding the best sportspersons. What such statements reflect is that most of their sportspersons are not intellectually good enough to pursue higher education. Unfortunately, the system’s expectation was also accepted by most of the students, parents and the public. It is important for decision makers in education to effect a change in the system.
I like to recommend to the Ministry of Education and the school administrators to pioneer the practice of requiring all sportspersons to maintain a minimum of ‘credit pass’ average in the previous term to represent their school in any sports and extracurricular activities.