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| Thursday, 2 December 2004 |
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Sports | |
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A worthwhile investment The maiden budget of the present government has paid greater attention to the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. It has been a positive sign for the future of Sri Lanka sports as more budgetary allocations have to be made to meet the ever-increasing demands and challenges in the field of sports and youth. The year 2005 will be a crucial one for Sri Lanka Sports and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as the country hosts the 10th South Asian Games. It is only for the second time in the history of Sri Lanka Sports that the Games are coming to Colombo and 14 years since our inaugural 'show' in 1991. The Sports Ministry will have to play a key role to make the forthcoming eight-nation Games a great success. They will have to work closely with the National Olympic Committee and the 19 National Sports Associations involved. Estimated cost The estimated cost in hosting the Games is over Rs. 500 million. The Government takes the biggest burden in pumping a huge Rs. 300 million from the Treasury while the balance will have to be found through sponsorships. Though it looks that the Government will have to spend a huge sum to meet the expenses, it is an investment for the future. Hosting the South Asian Games here would provide an opportunity for our rural sportsmen and women to compete at an international sporting event under favourable home conditions. As the host nation, Sri Lanka gets an opportunity to field its largest ever contingent in the Games' history. If we had not been the hosts, the strength of our contingent would have been lesser, leaving out opportunities to some of the up and coming rural lads and lasses. It is heartening to note the interest shown by the country's president to make the South Asian Games a success. She has expressed the fullest support and state patronage as Sri Lanka plans to host its biggest-ever sporting event. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, as the chairman of the Steering Committee, is greatly supporting the National Olympic Committee in making a smooth lead up to the Games. Keeness When a country hosts an international Games of this nature, its citizens from all walks of life contribute immensely for the success of the Games. There is keeness shown even by elderly people at Olympic and Asian Games. At the last two Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens, thousands of Australians and Greeks of all socio economic levels contributed their best and volunteered their hearts out to make the events a great success. There were even elderly women in their 70s who worked as volunteer bus drivers and helpers. Several of them were wealthy and were holding top positions and even managing their own companies. But all of them stood down from their high profile positions and came forward to do so-called odd jobs as they felt proud to be a part of the Olympics when the Games were hosted by their respective countries. We in Sri Lanka too should have that patriotic feeling and be proud when an international event of this magnitude comes to our motherland. The South Asian Games is the 'Olympic version' for a poor country like ours. Even hosting the Asian Games is far beyond our reach, not forgetting an Olympic which is like a distant dream. Hence, it is the duty of all Sri Lankans to come forward and help in whatever the fields they are competent in and be a part of the Games. Implementation Going back to the role the Sports Ministry is playing under the direction of its Minister, they have identified short, medium and long-term goals to take Sri Lanka sports to the top. The successful implementation of those is yet to be seen. The main target of the Ministry's short-term goals is the South Asian Games while the medium and long-term goals include the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. According to the Secretary of the Ministry, Sugathadasa Ranugge, training squads are to be formed at divisional secretariat, district and national level from next year. Among the other operational plans identified are to strengthen the institutional structure to administer sports activities, appointment of national operational committee, forming of sports councils at provincial level, formation of district sports committees, projects under the theme 'Sports for all and Sports for better health' and annual ceremony to recognize sports achievements of our country. Discussions It is estimated a total sum of Rs. 317.96m. would be needed to implement the above projects. Already, Rs. 121.46m. have been allocated from the Treasury and the Sports Minister has already held discussions with the Finance Ministry to obtain the balance sum of Rs. 196.05m. The program looks pretty impressive but it is the duty of the officials and all those who are involved to give of their best to make the whole exercise a success. The Sports Minister has also made a wise move in deciding to obtain public views on the proposed national sports policy. Expert Australian advice too has been obtained to form the policy and a committee has been working to make amendments to it, considering current needs and future challenges. We hope the end product would be a perfect one. |
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