LETTERS: There were a few lessons to be learnt at the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) Athletic Championships at Stadium Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Paroi, Seremban, this month.
Former athletes who attended the tournament noticed flaws. Some athletes were said to be employing the wrong running techniques.
The timing needed to be better too, including the awareness of finishing their runs. Others were cited for mistakes in the way they jumped, sprinted or cleared the hurdles.
Another issue is former athletes who help with training in schools.
We should let them continue to coach in schools, districts or states to train athletes for state and national-level competitions.
Yet another was the poor organisation of the championships.
Apart from the lack of a proper warm-up track, throwing events were not allowed at the stadium but moved to Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (Usim) in Nilai.
This caused a great inconvenience, and there were safety concerns when it rained during the throwing event at Usim.
Some athletes had to run their semi-finals, especially for the sprint and jumping events, in hot weather between 11am and 12.15pm.
The exhausted athletes had to return for another event that started at 2pm. This meant that they did not have recovery time, which affected their performance.
In future, organisers should hold certain events in the evening, which would be cooler and more conducive for a better performance with a bigger fan turnout.
Lastly, it might be better for the Education Ministry, Malaysian Athletic Federation and Youth and Sports Ministry to conduct coaching certification for their physical education teachers for track and field through a selection process.
This will ensure that newly qualified coaches can mentor potential athletes.
However, many who obtained their track and field coaching certificate ended up being inactive.
C. SATHASIVAM SITHERAVELLU
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times