‘Fantastic’ response from S’wak, Peninsula athletes for Sibu Open
SIBU: A record number of 936 athletes representing 65 teams will vie for RM16,000 worth of cash prizes in the Sibu Open Track & Field Championship to be held at Stadium Tun Zaidi from Sept 910.
Sibu Amateur Athlet ic s Association (Saaa) secretary Ting Siew Nguong said the number of participants surpassed 900 for the first time in the history of the meet.
“Last year, we managed to attract slightly more than 700 athletes. This year, the figure exceeded the 900-level. This is fantastic and it’s obvious that the championship is gaining popularity,” he added.
There are a total of 60 teams from Kuching, Sri Aman, Bintulu, Miri, Kapit, Mukah, Betong, Sarikei and Sibu.
The five teams from Peninsular Malaysia are Bukit Jalil Sports School ( 7 athletes), Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (19), Malacca Sports School (16), Kuala Lumpur Sports Council ( 3) and Negri Sembilan Sports Council (3).
Sarikei Selected is sending the largest contingent of 95 athletes followed by SMK Tabuan Jaya (64), Kuching Axis Petra Jaya Track & Field Club (42), SMK Chung Hua Miri ( 45), SM Riam Road Miri ( 36), SMK Sacred Heart ( 31) and SM Sedaya (30).
Other teams sending at least 20 athletes include Bintulu Division, CATS, SMK Julau No.2, SMK Oya, SMK Rosli Dhoby, SMK Three Rivers and SK SEDC.
Ting attributed the increasing number of participants to entries from the primary schools and Under-14 categories.
The sponsors are KTS Sdn Bhd (100m Open, U-14 and U-18 categories and 800m), Ta Ann Holding Bhd (100m, U-14 and U11), McDonalds (80m, 100m and 110 hurdles for U-14 and U-11), Huong Seng Motor Trading Sdn Bhd (long jump for Open and U-11 categories), TN Sports (discuss for Open and U14 categories), Delta Leasing (400m Open and U-14 categories), Smart (high jump Open and U-14 and U-11 categories), Sibu AAA (4 x 100m relay Open and U-14 categories) and Hii King Leng Foundation (Super Men’s 100m).
Records breakers for the Open category will get RM50 and RM20 for the U-14 and U-11 categories.
For team events, the champion for the Open categories for both Men’s and Women’s events will get RM500, first runner-up ( RM300) and second runner-up, ( RM200).
The champion for Boys’ and Girls’ U-14 categories will get RM300, first runner-up ( RM200) and second runner-up, ( RM100) while the champion for Boys’ and Girls’ U-11 categories will get RM200, followed by RM150 and RM100.
Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth & Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Hamzah is expected to officiate at the closing ceremony on Sept 10 at 3.30pm.