There is a famous saying that “sport is a doctrine to be believed in, not a medal to be won.” Sport is a beautiful experience of winning, losing, happiness, and tears. Patience, commitment, determination, self-confidence, and the support of sports help create a successful person to an enormous extent.
Even two countries that are at war with each other share that brotherhood together in the name of sports. It is very clear in the game of cricket. Sri Lanka has a history that has been praised by the world for proving that sports are not about winning and that participation is more valuable. Sri Lankan athletes have had many defeats as well as victories in various sports.
Sports in the modern world are not only needed by energetic youth. Sports are common to all age groups, children, youth, adults, old people, without any age discrimination. In order to make this common philosophy a reality, all Sri Lankans should be given a theoretical understanding of the importance of sports and the benefits of sports.
A person who plays sports not only gets physical health. Mental health and a network of social relationships are also built from this. Therefore, sport is called a social phenomenon. In defining what sport is, sport is also defined in sociology, just as it is defined in sports science. Therefore, sport is integrated with society and is called something that exists with normal life. Early man did not have close contact with sport because they lived an agricultural lifestyle. Sports and exercise were integrated into their daily lives. Therefore, since the habit was a support for the healthy life of the people, they did not need to play or exercise in particular.
But at present, with the development of technology, as well as in the competitive social environment, there is no space for individuals to engage in hard work. All they really do is work hard with their minds. Another reason for this is that the sport does not get the place where it needs to be.
In an interview with the Sunday Observer, M.K.A. Anoma Rathnayaka, a senior lecturer and the head of the Department of Sport Science and Physical Education at the University of Kelaniya, and a former International Ambassador for Sri Lanka’s International Organization for Health, Sports, and Kinesiology (IOHSK), USA, revealed further facts regarding this matter.
Q: What do you think about the contribution of sports to the current situation in the country?
A.One of the things that many people think is that sports are a competitive thing. Some think that sport is for physical, mental and physical well-being and some others think that sport is about winning medals. In this way, different opinions are held. And it is not only wins and losses for us in sports, and it has the ability to address any field of a country such as economic, social, political, cultural, educational and so on. Sports have the ability to carry out a great mission in the current situation in Sri Lanka. It is possible to create new investment opportunities especially through sports. More attention should be given to organising international competitions in our country.
It is possible to start new entry into the foreign market through local sports products. Also, it is possible to train the organisers of international sports competitions and refer them for foreign employment opportunities. We can introduce educational opportunities by developing sports educational programs. It gives the opportunity to apply for educational opportunities locally as well as abroad.
We have the ability to identify the sports that are in demand abroad and refer the experts for foreign jobs. Also, there is the ability to prepare the staff for the local and foreign tourism industry, especially for positions such as consultants, trainers, program organisers, promotion officers.
In this way, we have to understand that it is important to direct the sports through a number of fields that we did not pay attention to before. Therefore, by focusing not only on competitive sports but also on recreational activities, looking at sports and recreation as a broad field, these fields will be able to contribute to the current situation in Sri Lanka.
Many countries have become an industry that earns billions of dollars in these sports and entertainment fields. Therefore, the contribution that can be made from the fields of sports and recreation is very strong, especially in with the current conditions in Sri Lanka. There are only two means of healing people in the world. One is entertainment.
The other thing is sports. I see sports and entertainment as a part of life itself. Therefore, mental, physical and physical health is especially important to us. Many people in our country are suffering a lot mentally due to the current situation. Life has taken a turn for the worse. People are frustrated. So we have to understand this real situation. Therefore, each and every one of us should help to bring the country back to a good state in any way. Therefore, I very clearly believe that we are at a time when we need to play a big role through sports and recreational activities in this country. That is to direct sports and recreational activities to strengthen the country’s economy.
Q: Who should take the initiative for this?
There are not only the Ministry of Sports or the Ministry of Education but also the National Sports associations and federations of Sri Lanka as well as school sports Associations and federations and university sports, which are all stakeholders here. Therefore, the responsibility and accountability of each of these sectors are immense. Therefore, this is a moment where everyone’s commitment is needed to strengthen this mechanism. National sports associations and federations should also contribute directly to this.
Q: Are you saying that Sri Lanka’s national sports association federations have not taken such an initiative?
For that, I will take a starting point as follows: There are 25 districts in Sri Lanka. There are 72 national sports associations and federations registered under the Ministry of Sports in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, Sri Lanka should be an extremely rich nation in terms of sports. The reason I say that is that if the facts are like that, there should be 72 sports in every district of Sri Lanka. The idea is that 72 sports are being played in every district of Sri Lanka, isn’t it? But according to information only 65 national sports associations and federations are active. Other national sports associations and federations have been suspended.
Through elections in these associations and federations, in addition to representing district sports associations in leagues and sports clubs, they perform a responsible task in electing the relevant officers. That mechanism is functioning properly on a strong basis in every election. But in spite of this situation, in order to uplift the sport at the rural level, we have to find out again and again how far the district sports associations and federations representing the respective sports are engaged in that work.
There is a greater opportunity to promote sports and recreation at the district level for sports associations and federations as well as sports clubs, so it is the task of the relevant authorities to pay more attention to this and take steps to get proper services. If these active national associations and federations are really working for the advancement of Sri Lankan sports, there should be at least 65 district championships for the respective sports in each district.
It supports taking sports into communities. It is an opportunity to spread sport from village to village and to gain the attention of the general public. But only a very limited number of sports are held in district championships. And the national championships are also the same. So these conditions must change. If the registration is done solely for the sake of sports and does not benefit the country, the area, the district, or the region to which it belongs, it should be investigated further to learn more about how it works and how it can benefit Sri Lankan sports. To make it stronger, we can introduce a new combination for setting up district sports foundations. Through this, competitive sports as well as other recreational activities for the common people can be implemented.
In such an active environment, people are more likely to turn to sports and recreational activities. That means there should be awareness of about 65 different sports throughout the year. But the audience knows that society is only aware of a few very limited sports. We only see a very limited number of sports in the media, too. But during the registration of a sports association and federation as well as in the appointment of new officials for the same, due to the active participation of the sports clubs and league teams registered under the respective sports, the mechanism of appointing new officers in each of these national associations and federations during the elections of the respective sports repeatedly happens regularly.
It is a very good practice. But the problem is, what service is being done to the good of sports by these active district-level sports, be they sports associations or leagues? What work do these do for the public? What kind of work is done for the good of the country through that? The enthusiasm and dedication for the association and federation elections should be done for the real good of the sport by the majority of the sports association conferences. If all the sports that we have today are working properly, the number of spectators will be very high.
In such a background, it is possible to increase the interest of the sports entrepreneurs we talked about in the beginning. Therefore, it is important to pay more attention to the functions of Sri Lankan sports. Also, methods should be introduced to monitor the activities of these sports, and incentives should be given accordingly. Without doing so, it is not fair to complain about the activities of the associations and federations or when their skills are reduced. Likewise, it is impossible to expect progress in sports in this country by identifying the winning games and working only to protect the winning players. Just visit the web page of a national sports association and federation today. There are national federations and associations that do not update information.
Among them, how many sports are there that represent international tournaments? These are only very basic matters. Therefore, I believe that there should be an awakening in the national sports associations and federations in this country. More than this, national sports associations and federations are responsible for carrying sport on national missions. Also, the mass media should not be limited to a few selected sports and should be more interested than before in contributing to the communication work of bringing other sports to the community.
Only then can sport contribute to its true social mission. On the other hand, the officials and authorities of the related sports have a duty and responsibility to maintain good relations with the media and get support to take the sport they represent to the people. At present, talented people have to be sought for competitive sports. For that, the relevant authorities have to prepare sports programs by spending a lot of money. But we will be able to change this situation if we introduce policies to maintain the sport regularly, implement them, prepare a formal work plan, and monitor them.
The Government will be able to reduce the expenses for that. We need to implement a mechanism that directs the talented to sport, rather than looking for the talented. In this way, we need to formulate the necessary policies to conduct sport for the common good of the general public and not only the winners of the games but also the losers, and formalise mechanisms to inform the relevant parties about that. Likewise, it is a moment when the higher authorities of sport should work to intervene and provide examples for the proper maintenance of the good governance of sport.
Thus identifying the real conditions of sport, it is important to direct sport to the new approaches mentioned above. Through that, sports as well as recreational activities will be able to create a dynamic group of people who can contribute to the development of the country. First of all, what we have to do is we have to make basic plans to fill this gap.