Wong (centre) sounds the gong to officiate the sports meet while Ling (third left) looks on.
SIBU: Athletes must always take care when engaging in sports activities to avoid getting injured.
SMK Tung Hua Board of Management vice chairman Dr Wong Soon Ting who gave the advice said this was despite the rarer chances of young athletes getting injured these days.
“Nowadays, athletes have better training facilities, better system of training and proper guidance from the coaches.
“Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to bear in mind that the possibility of sustaining sports injury is always there,” he said when officiating at the opening of the school’s annual sports meet at Tun Zaidi Stadium.
Wong singled out ankle sprain, groin pull, hamstring strain as well as knee and elbow injuries as some of the common injuries.
He said these injuries usually arose from sudden and over stretching of tendon, ligaments and muscles and therefore one must never over exert oneself.
He said some injuries were solely due to accident but the majority could be due to pure negligence and carelessness and poor attitude.
“So, athletes should pay attention and take extra precaution during training and competitions,” he reiterated.
He stressed the importance of conditioning, such as a proper warm-up.
“Another common problem athletes encountered is the heat problem,” Wong added.
He said: “Heat cramp and heat exhaustion are associated with dehydration, fainting, profuse sweating, nausea, vomiting, headache, weakness and fatigue.”
He said if the situation was not managed properly, it might progress to heat stroke and could be life-threatening or even fatal.
For prevention, Wong said athletes should avoid exposure to extreme heat and drink plenty of water.
Earlier, in her brief remarks, school principal Ling Chai Ping said a total of 458 students are competing in 76 events of the two-day meet.
“We have inter-class as well as inter-house competitions,” she said.