Reforming sports bodies
In an article published last week (“Government must boost support for top athletes,” Aug. 14, page 8), Charles Yu (余宗龍), head of National Chung Hsing University’s Graduate Institute of Sports Health and Management, wrote that the government should push every sports association to perform better.
I could not agree more.
Sports associations should undergo thorough reform and be headed by professionals.
Most of the chairs of domestic sports associations are filled by political figures, either legislators or city councilors. The biggest function of the associations in electing political figures as chairs is to help them obtain bigger budgets, but the biggest drawback is that the political figures are outsiders.
The political figures might be interested in the sport, but they are not specialized in the field, or they are restricted by their time and energy, so they cannot devote themselves to an association.
It is difficult to promote association affairs normally and it is more difficult to formulate a plan for the sustainable operations.
Not long ago, Taiwanese badminton star Lee Yang (李洋), who won another Olympic gold in Paris, said that he intends to run for the chairmanship of the Chinese Taipei Badminton Association. I think that this is a very good plan, as Lee won gold medals in the men’s doubles at two Olympics and he has been involved in the sport all his life. I believe that he knows the strengths and weaknesses of the badminton association and how it should be developed, and as long as he is willing to devote himself to the task, he would be able to secure the job and bring new life to the body.
Many Taiwanese sports veterans are to retire after the Paris Olympics. Apart from Lee, there is also Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵) in table tennis, Tai Tzu-ying (戴姿穎) in badminton and Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) in tennis. If they can make use of their expertise to take up leadership of the associations that run their sports, it would definitely have a positive catalytic effect on the revitalization of sports culture and the associations’ performance.
The Chinese Taipei Tennis Association has been criticized for its lack of impartiality and has been a source of controversy for years, which has created longstanding unresolved resentment among the players while affecting Taiwan’s performance at international competitions. This problem would continue unless the association is reformed.
Physical strength is national strength. The Olympic Games are also a great opportunity for countries to show off their strength. Countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea were impressive this time. Taiwan should start by introducing reforms to sports associations and let professionals lead them, so we can have greater expectations about the future of sports and athletic development.
Now that the Paris Olympics have ended and the countdown to the Los Angeles Olympics four years from now has begun, Taiwan should begin to think of ways to find more outstanding athletes, hire more outstanding coaches and build more sports venues that are up to international standards.
Meanwhile, it should reform sports associations so that professionals can take the lead. By taking multiple measures like this, we can lay the foundation of victory for the next Olympic Games and even for the long-term development of sports in the country.
Tsai Tien
Taipei
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