Sports

Sports

SPORTS NON PLUS
By. S. R. Pathiravithana
As a result of the disunity, bad management and other allied matters in the sports arena there are many reverberations. This had led to the sports fraternity forming various groups and trying to drive in their point of view without much concern for the benefit of their respective sport, but rather for their own personal gain.

The latest victim in this melee is the South Asian Federation games as a whole. It is reported that the games which are scheduled for April next year, may be postponed to August 2006. As a matter of fact the move to shift this “giant spectacle” remains the truth. But, there are various versions as to why it is so.

First it was a SAF veteran who opted to remain anonymous who broke the ice. He accused thus: “There is hardly another five months remaining, and nothing has been done. Generally the technical handbooks have to be printed well in advance and sent to the respective competing countries at least six months ahead so that they too can gear-up for the event, but ironically that has not happened.

“Then funds for the games too are not allocated to some of the associations. At the same time the athletes who are training in Diyatalawa are complaining that they are not provided with proper facilities for training, so much so that at times they even have no grounds to carry out their training. As a result now they pinning the blame on the political situation in the country citing the possibility of an impending general election in the aftermath of the Presidential elections which is scheduled for the 17th of November, as the reason to shift the games from April to August.

When the secretary to the ministry of sport S. Ranugge was contacted in this regard he said “As far as the ministry is concerned, the games will be conducted as scheduled. Where the allocation of funds are concerned we have already given out allocations to fourteen associations. They are – Weight Lifting (first and second parts), Badminton, Boxing (first and second parts), Wrestling, Athletics, Squash, Table Tennis, Cycling, Judo, Vu Shu, Rifle Shooting, Volleyball, Archery and Kabbadi. Besides the above Swimming, Rowing, Karate, Tai quando and Football associations have still not requested for their monies. As far as swimming is concerned I see a problem there with the setting up of the Interim Committee for that sport and the new committee should submit their proposals soon.

Then in answer to the poser on the Diyatalawa training Ranugge said “In athletics they forwarded a budget for high altitude training in Diyatalawa and from this a certain component was held back as we did not agree with the sessions demarcated to Kuruwita and so on. However the high altitude component was paid and if I can recollect, it was done in November-December last year.”

Meanwhile it was learned that the NOC chief Hemasiri Fernando met the minister of sports Jeewan Kumaratunga regarding the postponement of the South Asian Federation Games. He had pointed out to the minister that there is a fair chance of the government being dissolved after the November 17th presidential elections and in that scenario with a general election and the would be hullabaloo situation in the country the organizing of an event of this magnitude would be well nigh impossible. To this suggestion the minister had advised the NOC chief to wait until the presidential elections are over to take up the matter further. To get more information on the postponement and other upheavals on the sports ministry’s change of the Sports Law on the life time of the NOC membership Musings met with none other than the NOC chief Hemasiri Fernando himself.

On the first matter of the postponement of the South Asian Federation games Fernando said “If the government is dissolved during the post presidential era there will be a great possibility that the SAF games will be postponed. If the scenario takes that turn we may have to postpone it. However, the Met. Department has only recommended the months of April and August as the periods that the games could be held without adverse weather forecasts. At the same time it is me who is going to officially postpone it, but it is the head of state advised by the minister of sports who has to do it. I only can take the prevailing situation into consideration and make recommendations to the minister of sports to postpone the games.”

Then explaining the new rules regarding the sports law and where the NOC stand is Fernando said “There was a law prevailing from the inception of the sports law about members nominated to the NOC holding office. However in 1993 the then Sports Minister Nanda Mathew amended the law to the effect that after two terms of holding office at the National Olympic Committee he/she ceases to be a member and there was no question of a person holding office without being a member. However now what has happened is that the amended law has been brought to its original status”.

Then just after the November 17 presidential elections there is going to be another “win at all costs” contest at the elections. Though this is not a general election this too is going on the same lines and is being held for the second time within 365 days. On 30th of November 2005, the Amateur Athletic Association of Sri Lanka will go in for an election after its last head -- Minister Janaka Bandara Tennekoon resigned from his post.

Though it looked as if Dervin Perera who had a very close contest against JBT at the last elections would come to the hot seat without a fight, it is speculated that Ranjith Weerasena would come into the fray and it is going to be a hot issuethis time too.

For the past few months we have been repeating that the present state of affairs will not do any good for the proper sustenance of sports. Above that without any malice to any individual, what the sports minister has done by doing away with Nanda Mathew’s 1993 recommendation is that he has opened the door for an unscrupulous person to build a personal empire around any given sport. The irony of it all is that it was not that long ago that he had to step in to take appropriate action against another individual who was at the same game. Well … minister we all thought that you will `not fall in to the same rut in daylight that you fell during the dark.

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