KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Aquatics (MAS) is looking for diving talent in the Orang Asli community and interior regions of Sabah under the Fast Track programme.
Fast Track is designed to rapidly produce talented young athletes to replace national divers who are nearing the end of their careers.
MAS diving technical director Bryan Nickson Lomas said the first phase of the programme will start with 16 athletes under the age of 11. They will be placed at the national training centre in Bukit Jalil full time and are expected to be competitive by 2026.
Bryan said Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has suggested to include talent from the Orang Asli community and the interior regions in the Talent Identification (TID) process.
"There will be eight boys and eight girls picked from 60 candidates identified nationwide, with 26 from the Karnival Bakat Kebangsaan (KBK) and 34 from the TID programme," said Olympian Bryan.
"It's not necessary that all 16 talents will be picked. If only eight of them are good enough, we will take them and continue with the TID process.
"We will go to states that we have not covered yet, like Perak, or other interior parts. The minister has asked us to find talent from the Orang Asli community and from the islands and interiors of Sabah.
"We have the final camp from July 9-13, where we will pick the talent. We expect to start the first phase in September, but it depends on the schooling arrangements. If this cannot be sorted in time, we will start early next year."
MAS has targeted 16 talented divers to win medals from the age of 16 at the Sea Games and World Youth Championships, and they are expected to challenge for medals at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics at the age of 19.
Bryan emphasised that the process of bringing young children from their homes to Bukit Jalil needs to be handled carefully, with the cooperation and understanding of the parents being crucial.
"Among the concerns from MAS and the National Sports Council (NSC) is the age of the talent, 9-11 years old. They are quite young to come to Bukit Jalil for full-time training, and some of them have zero experience," said Bryan, who was a national diver at the age of 13.
"Some of them have no idea of the concept of diving, and full-time training can be challenging. The NSC has done similar programmes with gymnastics and diving, but the athletes were schooled away from Bukit Jalil.
"There will be chaperones and officials to monitor the wellbeing of these young children. The training can be tough, and some might quit within just three months, we need to avoid this by taking good care of these talents."