KUCHING: The present crop of coaches must be well equipped with skills and relevant knowledge in order to face challenges in training and guiding athletes. This was pointed out by Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Sarawak, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah who said the role of qualified and knowledgable coaches are important in ensuring their athletes get the best support in terms of training and guidance.
According to him, it is therefore important for all coaches to consistently keep abreast with the latest in coaching techniques and approaches including sports administration which may contribute towards their job responsibilities. The Minister was speaking at the opening ceremony of the ongoing 3rd East Malaysia Coaching and Sports Symposium and Sports Science Seminar 2017 which was held at Riverside Majestic Hotel yesterday.
The event which attracted over 250 participants from all over the country, including host Sarawak, is jointly organised by Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC), National Sports Institute (ISN), UiTM Sarawak and Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Tun Abdul Razak (IPGKTAR) of Kota Samarahan.
Also present during the opening ceremony were Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Sarawak, Datuk Snowdan Lawan and permanent secretary to MTACYS, Datu Ik Pahon Joyik, SSC’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ong Kong Swee, Sabah Sports Council director, Terrance Edward Pudin and East Malaysia National Sports Institute (ISN) committee chairperson, Dr Tan Kah Hock.
Held from October 10, the threeday symposium aimed to provide a relevant stage to develop the knowledge of sports coordinators, team managers, coaches, sports enthusiasts, physical education teachers, and lecturers from universities and teacher training institutes in sharing of resources and expertise among the participants.
“We are satisfied with the overall feedbacks of the participants and this will augur well for the development of the coaching standard locally,” said Dr Ong Kong Swee on event which will further boost sports development in Sarawak.
Also present during event are Allan Black and Timothy O’Brien from ISN, National Coaching Academy (AKK), Morten Frost the outgoing Director of Coaching of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), Anti-Doping Agency of Malaysia (ADAMAS) and International Society of Performance Analysis of Sports Asia (ISPASA).
The event also featured be a number of sports science experts from University Malaya (UM), University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and University Sains Malaysia (USM) who presented their papers and talks.
