KUALA LUMPUR: The warm-up track outside the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi is not the only problem for athletes bound for the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) Athletics Championships from Oct 15-19.
The stadium is also not up to the mark to host the championships.
A Negri Sembilan Amateur Athletics Association (NSAA) official said there is no electricity in the photo finish room.
"No one uses hand time for competitions anymore. World Athletics does not recognise events that do not use electronic timing.
"The running lanes are in pathetic condition. The white lines separating each lane are in poor state. Athletes risk running into the wrong lanes during their events.
"The tracks for the long and triple jump events are also in bad condition. It is because team benches are placed on the tracks during Super League matches.
"The management of the stadium is also not allowing throwing events to protect the field for football matches.
"Instead, all throwing events will be held at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia in Nilai. It will be the first time that an MSSM competition will have two venues.
"The state teams comprising 1,500 athletes will be stay in Bangi and travel by bus to their events in Paroi and Nilai daily," said the NSAA official.
On Friday, Perak coach K. Jayabalan said the warm-up track outside the stadium is worn out and not conducive for athletes.
He stressed that a warm-up track is very important for athletes, especially sprinters.
Meanwhile, Negri Sembilan State Education deputy director Faizal Rabani, who is also in charge of the sports division, said they are aware of the stadium's condition.
"We will discuss with the stadium management next week to solve these issues. We are not in charge of repairing the venue and warm-up track.
The Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium comes under the jurisdiction of the Seremban Municipal Council.