Runners jumping into the half-full pit during the Boys’ Under-18 2,000m steeplechase final.
NEGRI Sembilan will play host to the National Schools Sports Council (MSSM) Athletics Championships from Oct 15 to 19 at Stadium Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Paroi, Seremban.
Bear in mind the Negri Sembilan Schools Sports Council (MSSNS) Athletics Champion-ships was held last month.
As an athletics teacher for the past 35 years in Negri Sembilan, I want to highlight the shortcomings of this state meet.
The organisers will have to buy new sets of starting blocks for the MSSM meet as various types were used at the state meet.
The technical manager has to ensure the steeplechase pit is filled up with water unlike on Aug 21 when runners jumped into a half-full pit.
The meet must also follow a schedule and not take place too early in the afternoon as the weather is extremely hot.
Seremban City Council (MBS) workers must clean up the stadium after Malaysia League football matches.
The toilets, shower rooms and dressing rooms must be repaired and painted.
Since MBS does not allow throwing events to be held on the grass field at the stadium, MSSM organisers must build throwing areas outside the stadium or have them not far away to allow spectators and athletes’ families to watch these events easily.
In addition, the warm-up track outside the stadium is in deplorable condition and urgently needs to be resurfaced.
The calling room judges must also ask the athletes to report according to the time stated in the programme, not earlier or later.
Zi Xuan and her coach Teh at Stadium Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Paroi last month.
For the past 10 years, I have noticed that the stalls outside the stadium sell only cordial, carbonated, energy and cold drinks as well as burgers, keropok lekor, banana fritters and so on.
I hope that during the MSSM meet, there will be food trucks selling nutritious food such as rice, bread, noodles and sandwiches along with hot drinks like coffee, tea and chocolate for schoolchildren.
At the state meet, the Seremban 2 team emerged champions with a commendable haul of 32 gold, 21 silver and 12 bronze medals, followed by Jempol 26-24-28 who edged out third-placed Seremban 1 who garnered 25-32-29.
Jempol district’s Leow Zi Xuan, who was Best Overall Female Athlete, bagged four gold medals.
She won the Girls’ Under-12 100m sprint with a record of 13.45s (old record 13.48s), and anchored her 4 x 100m relay team to another record of 55.3s (old record 55.9s).
She won the long jump with a leap of 4.29m and 4 x 200m relay in 1 minute 59.40s as well as came second in the 200m in 28.9s.
Coached by retired SJK Chi Wen Bahau teacher Teh Eng Eiau, Zi Xuan is a potential medal prospect for the MSSM meet.
The host team must undergo centralised training at the stadium to take full advantage of their home ground in Paroi.
They must put in their best effort because last year, Negri delivered their worst performance in MSSM history by bringing home a solitary bronze medal to finish in 15th place, just ahead of last-placed Labuan.
The MSSM meet in October will be the fifth largest athletics meet at the stadium, which was built in 1992 and the main venue for the 1992 Malaysian Athletics Open, 1994 and 2004 MSSM Athletics Championships as well as Sukma X Athletics meet in 2004.
Michael Cheng
Seremban
