Sports Facilities – Page 17 – The Sport Journal

Satisfaction Levels of Elite Track and Field Athletes in South Korea

Submitted by: Young-Jun Park, Ed.D., Dick DeSchriver, Ph.D., Lawrence Bestmann, Ph.D. and Jon “YeanSub” Lim

Abstract

The general problem of this study was to examine the level of satisfaction of elite track and field athletes in South Korea with six factors; facilities, equipment, financial support, head coach’s technical ability, training methods, and leadership.

The subjects were 194 track and field athletes who were selected from a 1997 ranking list of the top five athletes in each track and field event. A survey questionnaire was distributed to each subject with a return rate of 80% (N = 168). Statistical analyses were conducted using the SPSS-Window statistical package. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA and Post Hoc tests were used to analyze the data.

Results of this study indicated there were statistically significant differences among means of the six factors. The results of the post hoc test indicated financial support was significantly lower than facilities, head coach’s technical ability, training methods, and leadership. The findings indicated the majority of the track and field athletes were satisfied with all aspects of their facilities, head coach’s technical ability, training methods, and leadership. However, athletes were not satisfied with financial support from their club, company or school. Results of this study indicated financial support should be improved for track and field athletes in South Korea.

In spite of its general popularity throughout most of the world, track and field is not a popular sport in South Korea. Since the peak of its popularity in the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the number of track and field athletes has been declining (KAAF, 1997). Many young athletes have been changing to other sports, and recruitment of potential track and field trainees has become difficult (KAAF, 1997). The reasons for this have not been clearly identified. Also, financial support for research and development in track and field is lacking in the R.O.K. In particular, studies relating to the satisfaction levels of the tract and field athletes toward their sport and career, respectively, has been very limited (Lee, 1992).

The general problem of this study was to examine the level of satisfaction of elite track and field athletes in South Korea with facilities, equipment, financial support, head coach’s technical ability, training methods, and leadership.

METHODS
Subjects
The subjects in this study were both male and female elite track and field athletes whose performance in 1997 ranked them among the top five as their track and field events in South Korea. The list of these athletes was obtained from the Korean Amateur Athletics Federation (KAAF). Since there were a total of 22 events for men and 20 events for women, the sample included 110 (22X5) males and 100 (20X5) females. Therefore, the sample included a total of 210 athletes. However, taking into consideration that 16 athletes placed in the top five in more than one event, the actual targeted number of potential subjects was 194. Eighty-seven per cent of the subjects (N=168) responded to the questionnaire.

Instrument
The researcher constructed a survey questionnaire instrument for the subjects to indicate their satisfaction levels. Responses to questions were made on a five point Likert scale and were averaged to yield the overall satisfaction level for each factor.

Statistical Analysis
Descriptive statistics: frequency, percentage distribution, the mean and standard deviation were used to analyze subjects’ demographic characteristics. One-way ANOVA was conducted to determine if there were statistically significant differences among the means of the athletes’ satisfaction levels. The Student Newman-Keuls method as a post hoc test was conducted to determine specifically athletes’ satisfaction levels. Statistical significance was accepted at p<.05.

RESULTS
Demographic Characteristics of Subjects
Of a total subjects (N=168), 90 (58.3%) were male athletes, and 78 (41.7%) were female athletes. Seventy-two (42.9%) athletes were ages of 18 to 21 and 60 (36.9%) were ages of 22 to 25. Only six athletes (3.6%) were over 30 years old.

One hundred athletes (59.5%) were members of university teams and 56 (33.3%) were members of company or club teams. A few were on high school teams. The classification of the subjects by event shown in Table 1, indicated track (58.9%), field (36.4%), and multiple event athletes (4.7%). The majority of the subjects became track and field athletes through encouragement from their coach or physical education teacher. Most subjects competed for more than five years, but less than 15 years.

Table 1 Classification of the Subjects
Event	N	%
Track (58.9%)
Sprint	25	14.9
Hurdle	16	9.5
Middle and Long distance	58	34.5
Field (36.4%)
Jumping	31	18.5
Throwing	30	17.9
Decathlon and heptathlon (4.7%)	8	4.7
Total	168	100.0

One hundred twelve athletes (67%) changed their main event more than once during their track and field career. Their reasons for changing were as follows: the opportunity to obtain better results (28.5%), poor record (23.2%) or dislike of their primary event (21.4%). Of those athletes who did change their main event, 90 athletes (80.7%) were satisfied with the results.

Satisfaction Levels
One hundred fourteen athletes (67.8%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their weight training facilities and 98 (58.3%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their track training facilities. For the field training facilities, 94 athletes (56.7%) were satisfied or very satisfied.

Sixty-eight athletes (42.0%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their training equipment, and 82 (45.2%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their competition equipment. For personal training items, 66 athletes (39.2%) were satisfied or very satisfied.

Ninety-six athletes (57.1%) indicated they were satisfied or very satisfied with their head coaches’ personal communication skills, and 92 (54.7%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their head coaches’ technical skills and knowledge. Eighty-four athletes (50.0%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their head coaches’ strategy.

Eighty-four athletes (47.6%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their head coaches’ training methods, and 96 (57.1%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their head coaches’ training schedule. Eighty-four athletes (50.0%) were satisfied or very satisfied with the coaches’ feedback.

One hundred two athletes (62.9%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their head coaches’ friendliness, and 110 (68.7%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their head coaches’ ethical conduct. As for the head coaches’ ability to motivate, 102 athletes (62.9%) of the subjects were satisfied or very satisfied.

Only 50 athletes (29.9%) were satisfied or very satisfied with the financial support they received from their team, club, company or school. Most athletes were not satisfied with the financial support form their team. Many athletes in this study received financial support from their family.

Differences in Athletes’ Satisfaction Levels
The results of the one-way ANOVA revealed there were statistically significant differences among means of the six factors; facilities, equipment, financial support, head coach’s technical ability, training methods, and leadership (Table 2).

The results of the post hoc test indicated financial support was significantly lower than facilities, head coach’s technical ability, training methods, and leadership (Table 3).

Table 2 One-way ANOVA for the Satisfaction Factors
Factors	DF	MS	F
Between	5	47.56	*81.82
Within	996	0.58
Total	1001
*p<.05

Table 3 Results of Student Newman-Keuls Post-Hoc Analysis
Factor	Facilities	Equipment	Ability	Method	Leadership
Financial Support	5.62*	3.20	5.45*	4.43*	5.62*
*P<.05

DISCUSSION
The results of this study indicated the top South Korean track and field athletes were generally satisfied with facilities, head coach’s technical ability, training methods and leadership. However, they were not satisfied with their financial support.

Athletes’ satisfaction levels with their financial support from the club, company or institution was relatively low. Because of that, most athletes indicated they are dependant upon financial support from their parents. In this regard, many young athletes have been changing to other sports, and recruitment of potential track and field trainees has become difficult (KAAF, 1997).

In 1997, the Korean Amateur Athletic Federation also established a new policy by which prize money can be given to the athletes who set a new national record, Asian record, world record or who are awarded a medal from world wide competitions (KAAF, 1998). This might be one of the ways to increase motivation and satisfaction for track and field athletes. For an athlete to be satisfied with one’s sport, he or she must have appropriate motivation to participate in the activity (IAAF, 1998).

RECOMMENDATIONS
As a result of this study, the following recommendations were made:

Track and field coaches must discern whether the event in which their athletes compete is appropriate. If it is believed to be inappropriate, the athletes must be encouraged to change their event. By doing so, the athletes may obtain better results and thus experience greater satisfaction.
It is desirable to expend more money on providing athletes with quality training equipment needed to increase satisfaction.
It is desirable to develop a financial support plan, if implemented, could increase track and field athletes’ satisfaction and thus result in greater interest in participating in track and field.
A study should be conducted with subjects that are representative of all track and field athletes, as opposed to only elite performers.
The level of athletes’ satisfaction with regard to their room and board should also be identified.
Specific data on the financial support given to teams, as well as allocations given to individual athletes should be analyzed.

References
Choi, J., Lee, K., & Kim, H. (1995). Comprehension of statistical analysis. Seoul: Jau Academy.

IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation), (1998). Http://www.iaaf.org/Sport/track field.html.

IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation), (1998). Http://www.iaaf.org/Iaaf/dev.html.

Jackson, S. (1996). Toward a conceptual understanding of the flow experience in elite athletes, Journal of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 67(1), 76-90.

KAAF (Korean Amateur Athletic Federation), (1988). The Interesting Track and Field, KAAF Press, Seoul. 5-50.

KAAF (Korean Amateur Athletic Federation), (1997). The World of Track and Field, 1, KAAF Press. Seoul.

Kang, S. (1996). Research Methods in Physical Education, 21century Education Press, Seoul, 163-186.

Korea Olympic Committee (KOC), (1997). The training plan for national team in 1998, Department of Athletes Training, Seoul.

Lee, K. (1992). The Theory and Performances of Sport, Jiam-Sa, Seoul, 429-598.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-27T17:38:41-06:00February 11th, 2008|Sports Facilities, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Awards of Sport

Each year, the United States Sports Academy honors leaders in
sport through its Awards of Sport program. Recipients come from
all arenas and positions in sport, but share the common characteristic
that they are leaders in their area and have made outstanding
contributions to national or international sport through education,
research, or service.

There are twelve awards in the Medallion Series, each honoring
a different aspect of sport.

They are:

The Eagle Award

is the Academy’s highest award. The eagle
was chosen as the focal point of the logo and seal because it
is emblematic of the institution’s quest for excellence in its
unique academic endeavor. The soaring eagle exemplifies man’s
striving for new heights, so symbolic of the aim of education
and athletic competition. Past winners include Nelson Mandela,
President of South Africa, and H.S.H. Prince Albert of Monaco.

The Ronald Reagan Media Award.

Named for the 40th president,
Reagan, the “Great Communicator,” who began his career
broadcasting sporting events. Past winners include Howard Cosell
of ABC Sports and Dick Ebersol of NBC Sports.

The Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award.

One of the greatest track and field Olympians, as well as a professional
golfer who overcame cancer to return to the winner’s circle.
Past winners include jockey Judy Krone and Jim Abbott, baseball
player for the California Angels.

The Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award.

Stagg, “The
Grand Old Man” of the gridiron, was the most winning coach
in college football and also had great records as a track and
basketball coach. Past winners include Eddie Robinson, Head Football
Coach for Grambling University, and John Wooden, the great UCLA
Basketball Coach.

The IOC President’s Disabled Athlete Award.

His Excellency,
Juan Antonio Samaranch, the President of the IOC, authorized
this award in honor of the development of the Paralympics. Past
winners include Linda Mastandrea, Wheelchair Athlete, and Tony
Volpentest, Track and Field Paralympian.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Fitness Award.

Named for the
34th U.S. President, Supreme Allied Commander in WWII and founder
of the President’s Council for Youth and Sport which served as
a catalyst to the nation’s fitness movement. Past winners include
President George Bush and Arnold Schwartzeneggar.

The Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award.

Robinson broke
the baseball color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers by displaying
his skills, while at the same time subjugating his pride, to
prove an awareness of our failings as well as his abilities.
He was also a great athlete at UCLA as football and track star.
Past winners include Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds and the
Houston Rockets’ Hakeem Olajuwon.

The Theodore Roosevelt Meritorious Achievement Award.

Hero
of the Spanish-American War by virtue of his Rough Riders, he
was named the 26th president of the United States. Roosevelt
had a successful career on the playing field and in the boxing
ring. He developed the National Parks System, and was responsible
for the establishment of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA). Past winners include Senator Bob Dole and Senator Bill
Bradley.

The Carl Maddox Sport Management Award.

Named for the
long-time athletic director at both LSU and Mississippi State.
Maddox is also a former Chairman of the USSA Board of Trustees.
Past winners include PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem and David Stern,
Commissioner of the NBA.

The Jim Thorpe All-Around Award.

Thorpe, a Native American,
was voted the greatest athlete of the first 50 years of this
century. He was outstanding as a football and baseball player,
and as an Olympian at the 1912 Stockholm Games, won both the
pentathlon and decathlon. Past winners include Bo Jackson, baseball
and football star, and Danny Ainge, baseball and basketball star
and coach.

The Dr. Ernst Jokl Sports Medicine Award.

Jokl, an outstanding
German Olympian, is commonly known as the “Father of Sports
Medicine.” Jokl came to the U.S. in 1952 and served as the
Director of the University of Kentucky Rehabilitation Center.
Jokl was a prolific author and researcher in sports medicine
as well as psychology and sociology. Previous winners include
Jacques Rogge, M.D., IOC Chairman of Sports Medicine, and Sir
Roger Banister.

In addition, the USSA awards several Distinguished Service Awards
each year. Given annually since 1979, DSAs honor those individuals
who have made outstanding contributions to national or international
sport through education, research or service. Former recipients
include Bud Selig, Commissioner of Major League Baseball and
Phillip Knight, CEO of Nike.

The finalle of the Awards of Sport are the Athlete of the Year
Awards, run in conjunction with USA Today, CNN/SI, WPMI-NBC 15
and Alabama Live, who placed the ballot on their web sites. With
over 10,000 people voting each year, Michael Jordan and Martina
Hingis have dominated the awards in the recent past, though Mark
McGwire and Tara Lipinski won last year.

We are currently accepting applications for our 1999 Awards of
Sport. To nominate, please send the nominees name and a brief
reason they should be considered for an award to academy@ussa-sport.ussa.edu
or mail it to:
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, Alabama 36526.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-27T17:59:51-06:00February 11th, 2008|Sports Facilities, Sports History, Sports Management|Comments Off

The Sun May Set at Last Over the Union

Submitted by: Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich, President, USSA

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA. This past week
on campus at the United States Sports Academy we had Tan Sri Dato’ Elyas
Omar, the former Lord Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, the magnificent capital city
of Malaysia, to receive an honorary doctorate during our 26th Annual Graduation
Celebration.

Dato’ Elyas served for more than a decade
as the Lord Mayor of Kuala Lumpur and was perceived to be the second most
powerful man in Malaysia next to the Prime Minister. He had a rather unlimited
budget during the heyday of Malaysia, when they were showing a national growth
of nearly 20% per year. He built the very beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur,
a mix between Asian and Western architecture, into a bustling capital city
with buildings that are the highest in Asia, and a fast transit system that
takes the people from one end of the city to the other, over the bustling
streets of bazaars. He maintained the beauty of the traditional British railway
stations, except this one features Islamic architecture, which is not what
one would see in Victoria station in London. The same is true with many of
the buildings including City Hall, the Parliament and the Selangor Sports
Club in the heart of the city.

Tan Sri Dato Elyas Omar is a great sport
enthusiast who built a sport complex equal to no other in the world. It is
capable of hosting a major international competition, including the Commonwealth
Games that will commence 10 September 1998. He not only built the sport complex
but, in collaboration with the United States Sports Academy, led their badminton
team to the world title (The Thomas Cup) in 1995. More importantly, he led
the bid for the Commonwealth Games which is a reflection of the British Empire
Games that was started in 1930. It was often written before the start of
World War II that the sun would never set on the Union Jack (the name for
the British flag) in the British Empire. This Empire virtually disintegrated
with the invasion of Asia by the Japanese Imperial Armies in the early 40’s.
However, the last of the great British Empire in the Far East came to a halt
with the transfer of ownership of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic of China
in July 1997.

The Commonwealth Games is often called
the Friendly Games because the early structure of the competition focused
on individual performances rather than team competitions. How can anyone
imagine there would be an international competition developed by the British
without football (soccer) or even cricket, as that was and has been the structure
of the Games until this Games being hosted in Malaysia.

Malaysia is the first Asian country (Third
World) that has hosted these competitions. Many people have been more than
concerned. From the beginning there has been an ill wind (ghost wind called
ungan in Malaysian) blowing hot and cold. It is made up of traditional British
games with players all dressed in white suit and tie, who “out snooker” one
another by bowling iron balls on a grass surface maintained to the quality
of a golf green one would find at Augusta, Georgia. If you wish, you can
take in a friendly game of squash and, of course, tennis, given the Wimbledon
tradition, as well as a wide variety of traditional British sports that one
would watch while enjoying afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches on the
veranda.

The general prediction from the Western
world is that the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia is heading for dire straits
even though they had an unlimited budget and the Director of Games (the former
Chief of Staff of the Army), who is the brother-in-law of Prime Minister
Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad. Incidentally, he is as anti-American
as anyone can be, particularly since Malaysia has gone through an economic
nosedive, like all of Asia during the past year.

As always in Southeast Asia, whether it
be the current financial crisis or anything else, there are always confrontations
between the countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN). Alarm bells are going off on many fronts even though the Malaysians
are doing everything in their power to muffle the problems, from facilities
to the difficulties they are currently facing with Indonesian immigrant workers
who are being abused in Malaysia. This could well boil over into the world’s
hottest and stickiest capitals (where on a good day, one needs to change
shirts at least three times a day).

There have been some concerns about the
athletes who oftentimes end up on the low end of the totem pole in most
international competitions, particularly as it relates to the heat and the
very high and dangerous levels of smog in Malaysia – a result of the on-going
forest fires that have affected the region for most of this past
year.

The fires that continue to burn in Borneo
were set by the Indonesian leadership to clear the forest for agriculture.
The Australian and New Zealand doctors indicate that the athletes may have
to wear masks during the competitions. However, the Malaysians are promising
that the smog will not reappear. This is hard to imagine since the fires
are burning underground in Borneo and there is no way to put them out. I
cancelled my last trip a year ago to the SEA Games in Jakarta because of
the smog, but I will be going to Malaysia in the coming weeks as a credentialed
VIP to observe this competition.

The Games now includes two team sports,
rugby but not football and, of course, at long last the friendly game of
cricket. New Zealand, Australia, and the Fiji Islands are among the best
rugby nations in the world in which they rule as king of all sports. Cricket,
of course, is part of the normal fare throughout the Old Empire, just like
tea and crumpets.

We all hope that the prevailing winds
that blow in September will cool the temperature, but it is clear that the
super stars of the athletic world are more than likely the ones to be cooled
toward the Friendly Games where the cash prizes are not there, making these
Games something of an anachronism. Actually, the Friendly Games, founded
during the days of the British Empire, no longer fits the image and philosophy
or even the world sport schedules as it did in the days of the magnificent
rubber plantations of Malaysia. Today’s competitors do not want to run for
fun, like the old school bash that they had once a year. Simply, they want
cash.

Secondly, the Friendly Games does not
provide the global platform that sponsors seek, particularly now that it
is being held within weeks of the World Cup in Soccer when the television
budget has drained the sponsors. In fact, this Games will be held three weeks
after the European Championships and in the middle of the IAAF Grand Prix
Final in Moscow and the Track and Field World Cup in South Africa. The kicker
on this whole Games format is, while one understands top track athletes running
for money, it is shocking that the British are not sending either a cricket
or a rugby team to this competition due to a long and tiring
season.

The saving grace for the XVI Commonwealth
Games, which may lack the Superstar glamor, is that the Malaysians will no
question put on a superb spectacle. Despite the economic turmoil, this will
be the largest Commonwealth Games ever held, with more than 6,000 athletes
from 67 nations utilizing 26 venues in and around Kuala
Lumpur.

The Commonwealth Games is really run like
a small town theater production. There are those who would like to see the
event reshaped and stripped of its last vestiges of Colonialism to enter
the arena like the Olympic Games, with all the top level competitive sports
rather than adopting new programs like cricket. Meanwhile, there have been
subtle political changes. Rather than having the Queen of England open the
Games (as she has for the last 16), they will be opened by the King of Malaysia.
The Queen has been relegated to the closing ceremonies.

In 1998 the Games in Malaysia is only
the second time it has been held outside of the Mother Country and its dominions,
e.g., Canada and Australia. The next Games is scheduled to be back in the
UK in Manchester in 2002. It is clear that the alarm bells are going off
a second time as Manchester has indicated they will have to scale down the
Games unless the British government comes forth with a subsidy of nearly
40 million pounds, which is not likely to happen.

With the global sport picture becoming
so congested, it may be that the Commonwealth Games as the British Empire
knows and loves it has had its day in the sun with the Union Jack being hauled
down maybe for the last time. The sad question is, is there anyone who really
cares? Meanwhile Malaysians are undaunted by all these questions. They have
already put their bid in for the next Summer Olympic Games following the
Olympic motto — higher, further and faster. Good luck.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-27T19:04:25-06:00February 11th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Facilities, Sports History, Sports Management|Comments Off

Alabama High School Soccer Undergoes Eligibility Rule Changes

Submitted by: Dr. Joe Manjone, Dean of Student Services, Continuing Education & Distance Learning, USSA

Changes in the penalties for Alabama High School soccer players receiving misconducts have had very little effect on the numbers and types of cards issued during the 1997 and 1998 Alabama high school soccer seasons (note: high soccer is a spring sport in Alabama). Although ineligibility penalties for yellow cards were eliminated, there was a slight increase in the number of yellow cards issued per game in 1997, but the number of yellow cards issued per game in 1998 was almost equivalent to 1996. At the same time, revised red card (includes red/yellow cards) penalties seemed to have very little effect on the number of. red cards (ejections) issued per game.

During the 1996 spring season and for several years prior, penalties for Alabama high school soccer players receiving misconducts were as follows: the first accumulation of three yellow cards – ineligible for the next game; the second accumulation of three yellow cards – ineligible for the next two games; the third accumulation of three yellow cards – ineligible for the remainder of the season; the first red card – ineligible for the next game; the second red card – ineligible for the next two games; and the third red card – ineligible for the remainder of the season.

For the 1997 and 1998 seasons, soccer eligibility rules regarding a misconduct were changed to conform to the rules in effect for other high school sports. All penalties for yellow cards were eliminated. The red card (or red/yellow) penalties are as follows: a player’s first red card – the principal at the player’s school receives a warning from the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA); a second red card – the player is ineligible for the next game; and a third red card – the player is ineligible for the remainder of the season.

Prior to 1997, misconduct card totals had to be kept by each team, and the coach was responsible for enforcing the penalty. With the new rules, the referee who gives the ejection must submit a report to the AHSAA, and the AHSAA is responsible for informing the school and seeing that the penalty is enforced.

In 1996, 649 game reports were sent by the head referee in each contest to this writer. In these 649 games, there were 545 yellow cards and 104 red cards given out. This resulted in an average of .84 yellow cards and .16 red cards per game.

In 1997, 513 game reports were submitted. In these 513 games, there were 486 yellow cards and 71 red cards awarded, resulting in an average of .95 yellow cards and .14 red cards for game.

In 1998, 747 game reports were submitted. In these 747 games, there were 612 yellow cards and 113 red cards. This resulted in an average of .82 yellow cards and .15 red cards for game.

As reported above, except for a slight increase in the number of yellow cards given in 1997, the change in the penalties given to players who receive red and yellow cards has had little effect on the average number of red and yellow cards given per game. Although there has been little change in the average number of cards given, there has been considerable criticism about the revised penalties from Alabama referees about the penalty changes.

In giving their opinion about the revised changes to the penalties for players receiving yellow and red cards, the following are some of the statements that were expressed:

1 “The penalty for yellow cards was too harsh under the old system, so I often refrained from giving out a yellow card.”

2 “Giving out a red card means that I will have to take the time to submit a report that will be sent to the school principal, who may then penalize the whole team. It makes me now reconsider if a red card is really necessary.”

3 “Recently, the overtime period for a tie game was changed from two ten-minute regular time and two five-minute sudden victory overtime periods to two ten-minute sudden victory overtime periods. This decrease in game time could have had an effect on the number of cards awarded per game.”

4 “If officials would have turned in game reports for all the games played, the results might have been different.”

5 “The changes were good, because schools do a good job in taking action against players who are ejected from games”

What are your feelings concerning player eligibility penalties for red and/ or yellow cards? Please let this writer know. E-mail: Joeman@USSA-SPORT.USSA.edu

Editor’s Comments: Dr. Joe Manjone is the Alabama State High School Association Soccer rules interpreter. He is also the region V soccer officials’ representative for the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials’ Association. He is a National High School soccer clinician, and has been officiating high school soccer since 1959.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-27T19:07:18-06:00February 11th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Facilities, Sports History, Sports Management|Comments Off

The Sun May Set at Last Over the Union

Submitted by: Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich, President, USSA

This past week on campus at the United States Sports Academy we had Tan Sri Dato’ Elyas Omar, the former Lord Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, the magnificent capital city of Malaysia, to receive an honorary doctorate during our 26th Annual Graduation Celebration.

Dato’ Elyas served for more than a decade as the Lord Mayor of Kuala Lumpur and was perceived to be the second most powerful man in Malaysia next to the Prime Minister. He had a rather unlimited budget during the heyday of Malaysia, when they were showing a national growth of nearly 20% per year. He built the very beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur, a mix between Asian and Western architecture, into a bustling capital city with buildings that are the highest in Asia, and a fast transit system that takes the people from one end of the city to the other, over the bustling streets of bazaars. He maintained the beauty of the traditional British railway stations, except this one features Islamic architecture, which is not what one would see in Victoria station in London. The same is true with many of the buildings including City Hall, the Parliament and the Selangor Sports Club in the heart of the city.

Tan Sri Dato Elyas Omar is a great sport enthusiast who built a sport complex equal to no other in the world. It is capable of hosting a major international competition, including the Commonwealth Games that will commence 10 September 1998. He not only built the sport complex but, in collaboration with the United States Sports Academy, led Malaysia’s badminton team to the world title (The Thomas Cup) in 1995. More importantly, he led the bid for hosting the 1998 Commonwealth Games which is a reflection of the British Empire Games that was started in 1930. It was often written before the start of World War II that the sun would never set on the Union Jack (the name for the British flag) in the British Empire. This Empire virtually disintegrated with the invasion of Asia by the Japanese Imperial Armies in the early 40’s. However, the last of the great British Empire in the Far East came to a halt with the transfer of ownership of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic of China in July 1997.

The Commonwealth Games is often called the Friendly Games because the early structure of the competition focused on individual performances rather than team competitions. How can anyone imagine there would be an international competition developed by the British without football (soccer) or even cricket, as that was and has been the structure of the Games until this year.

Malaysia is the first Asian country (Third World) that has hosted these competitions. Many people have been more than concerned. From the beginning there has been an ill wind (ghost wind called ungan in Malaysian) blowing hot and cold. It is made up of traditional British games with players all dressed in white suit and tie, who “out snooker” one another by bowling iron balls on a grass surface maintained to the quality of a golf green one would find at Augusta, Georgia. If you wish, you can take in a friendly game of squash and, of course, tennis, given the Wimbledon tradition, as well as a wide variety of traditional British sports that one would watch while enjoying afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches on the veranda.

The general prediction from the Western world is that the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia are heading for dire straits even though it had an unlimited budget and the Director of Games (the former Chief of Staff of the Army), who is the brother-in-law of Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad. Incidentally, he is as anti-American as anyone can be, particularly since Malaysia has gone through an economic nosedive, like all of Asia during the past year.

As always in Southeast Asia, whether it be the current financial crisis or anything else, there are always confrontations between the countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Alarm bells are going off on many fronts even though the Malaysians are doing everything in their power to muffle the problems, from facilities to the difficulties they are currently facing with Indonesian immigrant workers who are being abused in Malaysia. This could well boil over into the world’s hottest and stickiest capitals (where on a good day, one needs to change shirts at least three times a day).

There have been some concerns about the athletes who oftentimes end up on the low end of the totem pole in most international competitions, particularly as it relates to the heat and the very high and dangerous levels of smog in Malaysia – a result of the on-going forest fires that have affected the region for most of this past year.

The fires that continue to burn in Borneo were set by the Indonesian leadership to clear the forest for agriculture. The Australian and New Zealand doctors indicate that the athletes may have to wear masks during the competitions. However, the Malaysians are promising that the smog will not reappear. This is hard to imagine since the fires are burning underground in Borneo and there is no way to put them out. I cancelled my last trip a year ago to the SEA Games in Jakarta because of the smog, but I will be going to Malaysia in the coming weeks as a credentialed VIP to observe this competition.

The Games now includes two team sports, rugby but not football and, of course, at long last the friendly game of cricket. New Zealand, Australia, and the Fiji Islands are among the best rugby nations in the world in which they rule as king of all sports. Cricket, of course, is part of the normal fare throughout the Old Empire, just like tea and crumpets.

We all hope that the prevailing winds that blow in September will cool the temperature, but it is clear that the superstars of the athletic world are more than likely the ones to be cooled toward the Friendly Games where the cash prizes are not there, making these Games something of an anachronism. Actually, the Friendly Games, founded during the days of the British Empire, no longer fits the image and philosophy or even the world sport schedules as it did in the days of the magnificent rubber plantations of Malaysia. Today’s competitors do not want to run for fun, like the old school bash that they had once a year. Simply, they want cash.

Secondly, the Friendly Games does not provide the global platform that sponsors seek, particularly now that it is being held within weeks of the World Cup in Soccer when the television budget has drained the sponsors. In fact, this Games will be held three weeks after the European Championships and in the middle of the IAAF Grand Prix Final in Moscow and the Track and Field World Cup in South Africa. The kicker on this whole Games format is, while one understands top track athletes running for money, the British are not sending either a cricket or a rugby team to this competition due to a long and tiring season.

The saving grace for the XVI Commonwealth Games, which may lack the superstar glamor, is that the Malaysians will no question put on a superb spectacle. Despite the economic turmoil, this will be the largest Commonwealth Games ever held, with more than 6,000 athletes from 67 nations utilizing 26 venues in and around Kuala Lumpur.

The Commonwealth Games is really run like a small town theater production. There are those who would like to see the event reshaped and stripped of its last vestiges of Colonialism to enter the arena like the Olympic Games, with all the top level competitive sports rather than adopting new programs like cricket. Meanwhile, there have been subtle political changes. Rather than having the Queen of England open the Games (as she has for the last 16), they will be opened by the King of Malaysia. The Queen has been relegated to the closing ceremonies.

In 1998 the Games in Malaysia is only the second time it has been held outside of the Mother Country and its dominions, e.g., Canada and Australia. The next Games is scheduled to be back in the UK in Manchester in 2002. It is clear that the alarm bells are going off a second time as Manchester has indicated it will have to scale down the Games unless the British government comes forth with a subsidy of nearly 40 million pounds, which is not likely to happen.

With the global sport picture becoming so congested, it may be that the Commonwealth Games as the British Empire knows and loves it has had its day in the sun with the Union Jack being hauled down maybe for the last time. The sad question is, is there anyone who really cares? Meanwhile Malaysians are undaunted by all these questions. They have already put their bid in for the next Summer Olympic Games following the Olympic motto — higher, further and faster. Good luck.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-27T19:07:59-06:00February 11th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Facilities, Sports History, Sports Management|Comments Off