Ex Sports Council Chief Defends Controversial Uk Training Centre

---

Former National Sports Institute director-general Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz says he is prepared to assist in any plan to set up a high-performance training centre for Malaysian athletes.KUALA LUMPUR: Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz was the director-general of the National Sports Council (NSC) between 2005 and 2007 when a controversial plan was hatched to set up a high-performance training centre for elite and developing athletes in London
It never took off due to public disapproval over the cost and objection from the Hertfordshire authorities that cited environmental reasons
Ramlan, now retired, speaks his mind on the UK project which he thinks was unjustly criticised
He also shares his views on a suggestion by this writer in a column last Friday to revisit the idea of setting up a foreign base in Europe to achieve sporting excellence
Q: As NSC chief when the high-performance training centre in London was mooted and booted, do you think Malaysia should have pursued the project with an appeal?Definitely. I believed deeply in the concept. Whatever shortcomings in the proposal or any consequent execution of the project could have been refined and improved further. They did not shut the door on us
Although the outcome was negative, they encouraged us to address their concerns in an appeal
Q. Why do you think the answer to sports excellence is to base our athletes at an overseas high performance training centre?Training and preparatory competition at elite level require a level of immersion that is geared toward attaining peak performance physically, psychologically and socially
Immersion builds character to cope with the day-to-day peaks and troughs of life. In developing athletes, a mere two-week tour “exposure” is ineffective as they end up as nothing more than tourists going from place to place with pictorial mementos documenting their mere dip into the deep waters of sport
To compound matters, this “routine” is usually repeated several times in a year in the hope that repetition would bring success in preparing for a top competition
The right coaches will point to the advantages of an overall immersive programme that requires staying in one place overseas. That’s because it achieves a higher level of progress in training and weaves character building and personal growth into the bargain
It takes about three weeks before any new place starts to acquire that sense of familiarity and renders it a semblance of home and ease of daily life. The people there would soon seem to be much less intimidating as you socialise with them
Learn from how they can achieve excellence in sport while studying or working or even both while we quite typically use studies and work as excuses
Q. Why would it be more economical in the long run to set up a forward training base?Athletes normally make intercontinental trips of 12 or 13 hours, then take seven to 10 days to adapt to the eight-hour time difference. By the time they click into gear, it would be almost time to go home as two weeks are almost up
So, all that spending would have had minimal benefits. Then we wonder why we find it difficult to achieve sustainable top performances
Our assertion was that it would be better and more economical in the long run to set up a forward training base overseas such as in the UK. That way athletes can reside, study, train and compete regularly in the UK or in Europe without the risk of fatigue sustained by repeated prolonged travel
When it was put to us that there was the government-owned Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) in Brickendonbury in Hertfordshire county, about 45 minutes to Heathrow, we thought that it was just the ticket
The rubber industry had declined and only tyre testing remained at the centre, so it was proposed that the place should be put to better use
Q. Would you still recommend that the authorities revisit the plan to have such a centre in TARRC for the future of Malaysian sports?Yes, without hesitation. I would be happy to assist in any way
The concept of immersion in an overseas forward base (a military term) had been demonstrated successfully by the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS). AIS set up forward bases for cycling and rowing in Italy many years before we had studied the feasibility of utilising TARRC as our own forward base
Our experiences in Melbourne where we housed top track cyclists to train and compete for the best part of the year is also proof of the effectiveness of the idea and its proper execution
A fine example is Azizulhasni Awang and colleagues who made headway in the world track cycling scene. Azizul even studied in Melbourne and obtained a sports science degree
Q. Media and public criticism on the TARRC plan was centred on wastage of public funds. Was that the case?I was mystified when some sections of the media insisted on the veracity of their information, claiming that the physical development project was to cost £70 million (about RM490 million at the time)
That massive amount was purportedly for a full spec training and housing facility to be built on the property
The intention however was to renovate and refurbish existing buildings to house the athletes
There were numerous existing sports and training facilities that we could have availed ourselves of in the surrounding areas. These were within short travelling distance which did not make it necessary to build our own facility
We were scratching our heads over how that untrue and speculative figure came about, given that not a single survey had been done
There was some mention by some peripheral figure who wanted to get into the act, just making a speculative figure on it as a loose starting point of reference
That somehow got conveyed to excitable sections of the media keen to exploit issues despite the lack of veracity of source or subject
It was drummed to the high heavens as a piece of journalistic excellence. What a shame! - FMT

---