Even though four hundred applications were issued for the selection trails of the upcoming under 18 Asian Schools Athletic Championship, only eighty athletes showed interest in turning up on the day to put themselves in the line to represent the country. Have the best been selected?
The watch dog of Sri Lankan Sports; ThePapare.com consulted the opinions of the coaches and the Secretary of the Sri Lankan Schools Athletic Association Mr. Nevil Rodrigo on the matter. The story unfolds as such.
The second edition of the under 18 Schools Asian Athletic Championship will be held in China commencing on the 27th June-02nd July. The circular for the selection trials on the above mentioned championship was released on the 20th of May. Even though the circular was issued on the 20th of the May, the applications were distributed to the athletes during the Junior National Athletic Meet which was held from 23rd May- 26th May and the selections were held through nine days which is the 29thof May 2015.
The format of this year’s championship has completely changed from the previous one. Each country should have two groups male and female respectively. In each group there should be six members and each member could participate for two events in the following manner:
1. One running event and one jumping event
2. One running event and one throwing event
3. One jumping event and one throwing event
Since the format of the championship has completely changed from the first edition the opinion of the veteran coaches is that the time given to the athletes to prepare themselves for the trials was not at all enough. From a coaching perspective, a sprinter needs time to adjust himself in to a jumping or track event and three or four days would not be enough for them to perform well and bring back glory to the country.
When we contacted the Secretary of the Association on why the trials were called in a short period after issuing the applications, he stated that Sri Lanka only received the email from the World governing body with the invitation to participate during the first week of May. Also he stated that with the limited number of days that it is not practical to post the applications to 700 odd schools and wait for them to reply back with the confirmation and hence they decided to issue the applications during the junior Athletic meet.
However the coaches seemed to have a different story. They insist that the e-mail from the governing body was received before the first week of May and the office bearers of the association have failed to bring this to the attention of the Education Ministry.
The bottom line of the two contrasting statements is that only a disappointing 80 students participated in the trials.
Twelve athletes have been selected for the championship within the score range of 130-135. The opinion of the coaches is that an athlete should possess a minimum score of 160 to aim for a medal and also that if they did have time they could have trained their athletes to achieve that target since they have the potential.
Will the athletes prove the criticisms otherwise or have too many cooks spoiled the soup?
