Barely 300 spectators watched the Asian Track Cycling Championship at the velodrome in Nilai.
TIME and again, I have watched many poorly attended sports events.
On June 18, my family and I went to watch the Asian Track Cycling Championship at the National Velodrome in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.
Although it was a weekend, the arena was not even half full for both the morning and evening sessions.
Most people in the velodrome were either cyclists, their family members or people involved in organising the event.
There were only about 300 spectators who paid for tickets costing RM30 for adults and RM15 for primary school pupils at the meet held from June 14 to 19.
However, the carpark in the velodrome compound was full and I had to park at the nearby Nilai Indoor Stadium.
I hope the National Sports Council (NSC) can provide more parking spaces to accommodate visitors.
Since there are three secondary schools in Nilai with over 1,000 students, namely SMK Datuk Mohd Said, SMK Taman Semarak and SMK Desa Cempaka, I suggest the Negri Sembilan Cycling Association (NSCA) work with NSC to identify students in these three schools for coaching clinics.
The coaches can target potential cyclists and provide them with basic training.
As for the funding, it should not be a problem, since Nilai has many industrial plants and corporate bodies that can chip in to buy the latest track bicycles.
The organisers of cycling events can provide buses for about 15 boys and 15 girls from each school to watch the events held at the velodrome.
The organisers can rope in other secondary school students who live near the velodrome, as volunteers.
In addition, we can take a leaf out of the 16th Commonwealth Games held in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, which recruited primary school pupils near Bukit Jalil to cheer for the foreign athletes.
All these measures will fill the velodrome with schoolchildren who can observe the cycling professionals and learn more about the sport.
As for my family, we watched our national cyclist Mohd Shah Firdaus Sahrom take a horrible tumble in his keirin semi-final.
Despite being in pain and riding in torn attire on a damaged bicycle, he showed tremendous fighting spirit to complete the race.
He achieved joint third place to qualify for the final, where once again he rode courageously to grab the bronze medal.
I hope Negri Sembilan will have many talented race cyclists in the future if NSC and NSCA can rope in schoolchildren as spectators and eventually, as athletes.
SATHIYAKUMAR
Seremban
