CATCHING UP: President of Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA), Dato Patrick Liew (left) and president of Special Olympics of Kuching chapter, Datin Dayang Mariani Abang Zain during the recent courtesy visit to his office.
KUCHING: Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) president, Dato Patrick Liew had expressed optimism for the state to have tennis players competing in future Special Olympics Summer Games.
“It is possible for us to have players who can compete in Special Olympics tennis competition but there must be commitment and determination on our part to see it through,” he said.
Dato Liew said the association is keen to support efforts made by Special Olympics of Kuching chapter to promote tennis among its student athletes but it may take at least two years for them to be good at the game.
“Based on our past experience, it will take at least two years for us to teach the players on how to play good tennis and in five years time they may be able to start taking part in competitions,” he said.
He mentioned these during the recent courtesy visit made by president of Special Olympics Kuching chapter, Datin Dayang Mariani Abang Zain.
“We will do our best to help out but there must be commitment made by the relevant parties and the athletes’ parents in order for the whole thing to actually be ongoing,” he added.
Meanwhile, Datin Mariani had briefed Dato Liew on the club’s plans of sending its athletes to represent Malaysia in tennis at the coming Special Olympics Summer Games to be held at Los Angeles, USA in 2015.
“We may have the opportunity to become the first in Malaysia’s history to compete in tennis and for that we need the support from SLTA to achieve that,” she enthused.
According to her, the club needs more teachers to become volunteer coaches who can train and groom the athletes to participate in future events.
“We do have high hopes for our athletes to compete in the 2015 LA Games but they need to be well trained first and tennis could be the game which they can excel in the future,” she said.
She told the SLTA president that local tennis coaches would have to undergo a short workshop on how to discharge their duties accordingly among Special Olympics athletes who are intellectually challenge.
The coaching approach towards the target group is different and coaches must be certified by Special Olympics before they can start working with the special athletes.
In that respect, Special Olympics of Kuching is planning to organise a “Volunteer Coaches Workshop” soon and is open to those interested in working with the special athletes.
Those interested can contact the club’s secretary, Sanfa Guel at 0168851624 or email their inquiries at [email protected].