Hampering quest to produce future swimming champs
Constant breakdown, ‘green water’ at Miri public pool indicates severe lack of maintenance, leaving facility in sorry state
MIRI, once a renowned powerhouse in swimming with many young talents securing medals at numerous meets, is now facing challenges that hinder the development of the sport.
Amidst the support and enthusiasm shown by the parents and teachers, it seems that the severe lack of facilities and shortage of certified coaches may disrupt all efforts in nurturing future champions.
According to Coach Thomas Yung, there is an imbalance in the ratio of capacity of pools to the number of swimmers in Miri.
“Apart from Miri Public Swimming Pool that imposes very decent fees, other places that offer their facilities for training are Gymkhana Club Miri (GCM), Eastwood Valley, Kelab Rekreasi Petroleum (KRP) Lutong and South Lake. However, their fees are more expensive, which is understandable.
“It is crucial to note that the growing population in the division intensifies the demand for better and more extensive swimming facilities. Therefore, expanding the capacity of the public pool is essential.
“While we appreciate the private-owned swimming facilities opening up their spaces (for training), we have to take into consideration that they need to prioritise and reserve slots for their own members too.
“Efforts to nurture our potential swimming talents are constrained by such limitation,” Yung, who has been coaching for over 20 years, told thesundaypost.
It is crucial to note that the growing population in the division intensifies the demand for better and more extensive swimming facilities. Therefore, expanding the capacity of the public pool is essential.
— Thomas Yung, swimming coach
‘Of under-maintenance, high fees’
Reminiscing Miri’s glorious days in this sport, Yung believed that its decline began after the retirement of former deputy chief minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan as Miri Amateur Swimming Association (Masa)’s president in 2011.
Dr Chan’s contributions to the sport, said the coach, had included the provision of allocations meant for the upkeep of the public swimming facilities.
Immediately after stating this, Yung talked about the Miri Public Swimming Pool.
“Because of its 25-meter pool ideal for training, convenient location in the city centre and significantly cheaper fees than privately-owned places, the public swimming pool here is supposed to be the best option for the local swimming athletes.
“However, the constant breakdown and ‘green pool water’ (caused by overgrowth of algae due to insufficient application of chlorine) are the evidence of severe lack of maintenance, causing this facility to remain underutilised.
“The public pool has gained a lot of attention following the pressure from the public. Having said that, I hope the relevant authorities would come up with sustainable measures to upkeep the pool and the government has crucial role to monitor and ensure that it is maintained properly.”
Certified coach issue
Yung pointed out that swimming, being a technical sport, had specific requirements in every level.
“There’s no surprise when we say that we (in Miri) are in dire
need of more certified coaches.
“There is Masa, which has three affiliated swimming clubs; however despite the large number of swimmers, there are only a handful of coaches available to train the huge number of swimmers.
“Moreover, a licensed coach with professional training is hard to come by,” said Yung.
The licensing mentioned by the coach refers to Licence C, which is certified by the National Coaching Academy.
Yung highlighted the difficulty in obtaining this licence, saying that the short validity and the rare openings for level-upgrading were very problematic for many eligible trainers.
Lamenting further, despite the ongoing calls for certified coaches being made in almost every swim meet, he felt that Miri had been side-lined in terms of getting sufficient funding and coaches to train the local young talents.
Public complaints
Miri MP Chiew Choon Man, after having won the seat in the last parliamentary election in 2022, received a deluge of public appeals for him to address the public swimming pool issue.
He said he was informed that the public pool had been undergoing internal maintenance for some time, and was also alerted by Alan Ling, a member of the National Sports Council (MSN) management board about the pool’s closure, which had adversely affected the athletes’ training opportunities.
Chiew then went on to check with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) regarding the issue.
“Such pressing concern voiced out by the parents and the association is valid because they are worried about the future of our young swimmers.
“Which is why we’re glad upon hearing the confirmation from Pujut assemblyman Mayor Adam Yii (back in November 2023) that KBS had approved RM500,000 to fund the repair and maintenance works (on the pool),” said Chiew.
“Efforts to upgrade and expand our public facilities are crucial; they must not be ignored as they’re intended to create a healthier and more vibrant community in Miri.”
Yii, in a written statement issued last November, said the request for upgrading works on Miri Public Swimming Pool was forwarded to KBS in March last year.
“The proposal to upgrade the facility was tabled during the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the 12th Plan (12MP), and approved in May 2023, with Miri City Council (MCC) having been appointed as the implementation agency,” he said.
For now, the upgrading works of the city’s public swimming pool is in the implementation stage.
During a recent check on the premises, there was a notice at the entrance informing the public that the pool was closed due to technical damage.
The notice, bearing the signature of Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) chief executive officer Awang Putrayusrie Awang Redzuan, also stated that the works would be carried out from January to June this year.
However, there were no sign of any works being run at the site when thesundaypost went to check recently.
Parents’ concern
A full-time mother of two, Jane Shim, found it appalling that because of severe lack of maintenance of the city’s public pool, many parents had to pay higher prices at the private pools for their children to undergo swimming training.
“While I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it, what about parents who have the desire for their children to master this survival skill or who have dreams of them becoming swimming athletes, but are unable to afford the training?
“It is sad when we don’t have much choice in this.
“The previous federal government had proposed for swimming lessons to be a part of the school syllabus. I can confidently say that most parents welcome this proposal, but are the public facilities ready for this? And what about coaches?” added Shim.
“I hope that the government could seriously look into upgrading our public pool to accommodate the need of the current population.”
Being a supportive parent, Shim had volunteered to be the photographer for a state-level swimming meet held at the city’s public pool several years ago.
It was during that time when she had a very clear picture of the situation.
“We are not expecting a facility as grand as the Pandelela Rinong Aquatic Centre (in Kuching), but as a city, we hope for our pool to at least have a cover over it, a proper changing room and functioning showers.
Shim also voiced out her concern about coaching.
“My daughter (when younger) went through a lot of verbal abuse from her previous coach.
“After switching to a new coach, she began to excel and putting up a much different performance from before. She made me realise that a good coach can help swimmers bring out the best in them,” Shim added.
For Jane Lee, her family’s active lifestyle and her husband’s love for sailing motivated her to enrol her seven-year-old son to a swimming class.
The Mirian said the reason for this was to instil in the boy selfconfidence and self-assurance, and at the same time, to help boost his physical growth.
“Therefore, choosing a licensed coach to train him is important, both for his safety and for him to acquire swimming skills.
“It’s pretty hard to find one who is friendly, patient and strict in training,” said Lee.