Sports associations to work with ministry on development programmes
THE Education Ministry is prepared to work with the National Sports Associations (NSAS) on development programmes.
Its deputy director-general Sufaat Tumin said they had a fruitful meeting with representatives from the NSAS recently.
“We had a good discussion. They are prepared to conduct coaching programmes in the schools. We certainly welcome their role in the promotion and development of sports in schools,’’ said Sufaat after launching the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) calendar.
Nestle Products sports marketing manager Ng Ping Loong who was also present at the launch said they would continue to be the main partners of the MSSM programmes.
“Milo has been associated with the Education Ministry for almost 40 years. We have also initiated several programmes in schools. We provide the medals, certificates as well as special trophies for the MSSM programmes,’’ said Ping Loong.
The MSSM calendar for the year will kick off with the MILO-MSSM Awards in Kedah on March 1, followed by the MILO-MSSM cross country championships in Sungai Petani, Kedah on March 2 and 3.
The MSSM programme has 23 other sports — golf, artistic gymnastics, badminton, hockey, volleyball, basketball, sailing, squash, aquatics, table tennis, tennis, archery, rhythmic gymnastics, bowling, sepak takraw, athletics, cricket, football, handball, rugby, chess, softball and netball.
The MSSM will also take part in the Asean Schools Games, involving 12 sports — athletics, swimming, golf, sepak takraw, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, badminton, tennis, table tennis, basketball, volleyball and silat — in Indonesia from June 28 to July 6. MSSM will also be represented in the Asian Schools Sports Federation (ASSF) badminton and basketball championships in Hong Kong (July 16 to 20) and China (Sept 2 to 11) respectively.
The MSSM Under-15 and Under-18 football teams will be in action in the Asian Schools Football Federation (ASFF) competitions in Singapore (Aug 4 to14) and Iran (Oct 9 to 20) respectively.
The other international events in the MSSM programme are the Asian Schools bowling championships in Indonesia from July 8 to 15; Little Athletics in Singapore (July 13 t o 15) and Asean Primary School Sport Olympiad, involving five sports — athletics, football, chess, table tennis and badminton — in Indonesia (Oct 10 to 19).
Ping Loong said they were pleased to complement the MSSM programmes with campaigns promoting a healthy lifestyle among students.
“We had initiated campaigns — Brings out the champion in you; Grow with sports — before. Our current campaign, Play More Learn More, has also encourages students to excel in sports and studies,’’ added Ping Loong.