KK Sports Complex lawn bowls greens in bad shape
KOTA KINABALU: The carpet on one of the two lawn bowls greens at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex is in need of urgent repairs.
The Sabah Lawn Bowls Association hoped that the government would allocate appropriate funds to carry out the necessary carpet replacement as soon as possible.
Its president Datuk Ladislaus Maluda said the carpet had deteriorated since quite some time ago and foreign participants who came to compete in tournaments staged by SLBA had complained about the condition.
“And now the greens cannot be used at all. One of the main reasons for the quick deterioration of the carpet is because there is no roof sheltering it from the hot sun and rain. We raised this issue before in 2011 but until now, there has been no solution.
“Hopefully, with the new government, this problem can finally be solved. We hope that the carpet and roof issues can be solved as soon as possible to ensure the development of the sport and the staging of tournaments is not compromised,” said Ladislaus.
He made these remarks at the launching of the Sabah Open Lawn Bowls Pairs Tournament officiated by permanent secretary to the Youth and Sports Ministry, Datuk Awang Damit Awang Anak, in Likas here yesterday.
According to Ladislaus, the carpet problem was the reason why they did not invite outside teams to compete in the Sabah Open tournament.
“Usually for this tournament, we would invite teams from Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines and Australia, but this time we only invited teams from Brunei and other states.
“Obviously, this is because of the condition of the greens. And because we have only one green that can be used, the competition schedule is also quite tight and matches have to be played until late at night,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Awang Damit said it was the ministry’s wish to have all sporting facilities in the state in good condition, including the lawn bowls greens.
“As for the greens, we have actually already planned for repairs to be carried out and now we are just waiting for the funds to be allocated.
“We will continue to ensure that this matter is given the necessary attention from the ministry,” he assured.
Also present at the ceremony were Sabah Sports Board (LSNS) chairman Datuk Louis Rampas, Sabah Sports Council chairman Terrance Edward Pudin and LSNS deputy general manager Mohd Asneh Mohd Noor.
A total of 46 teams are taking part in the Sabah Open Lawn Bowls Pairs Tournament, including seven from Brunei, five from Labuan, two from Selangor and one each from Sarawak, Perak and Kuala Lumpur as well as local teams.
The competition, which began yesterday, was scheduled to conclude on Sunday.