The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Concern at poor compliance with order on spotting talent

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 05, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Concern at poor compliance with order on spotting talent

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, SEPT. 4. Only 25 schools in Chennai have complied with a School Education department order, mandating all institutions in the State to conduct physical tests that will help the Government find Olympic-level talent, according to P.W.C. Davidar, Member-Secretary, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu.

Urging school heads to ensure that the prescribed athletic tests for classes VI, VII and VII were conducted during the first academic term, he said all schools were given report card to evaluate students on five motor skills — speed, endurance, strength, explosive power and agility. This programme, "The World Beaters Talent Spotting Scheme," was launched to spot young talent and inculcate an attitude of physical fitness among students in Tamil Nadu.

Australian model

Last year, 7,000 schools complied, 2,000 more than the previous year, he said at a Statewide virtual panel discussion organised by Reliance Indiamobile on Saturday.

Tamil Nadu was taking a leaf out of the model of Australia, which won 17 gold medals in Athens. "They were nowhere 25 or 30 years ago."

Mr. Davidar explains how that country forayed into the world-record-breaking scene with an "Active Australia" slogan. "Every year 30,000 children would learn to swim; out of them 3,000 would be selected to compete on a regular basis. Four years before an Olympic event, 300 of them would be looked at for Olympic potential and one year before the actual Olympics that would be narrowed down to 30," he says.

Mr. Davidar, with this scheme and other programmes, foresees the likelihood of "10 medals for the Indian contingent by 2012, and nine of them will be from Tamil Nadu." But he seeks the cooperation of every school in Tamil Nadu for a broad-based approach to identify potential champions.

Last year 30,000 students throughout the State took these tests, he said. "We finally chose the 50 top students who are now training in a Sprints and Jumps Academy in Madurai. It's a non-residential academy, where experts coach students. And out of this identified talent, 75 per cent had never worn shoes at all. It shows that we have got very few entries from the cities, while rural compliance has been very high," he said.

According to him, more than 1,200 children benefited from residential sports coaching camps in May 2004, simply because the school concerned had conducted the tests.

"I personally met all the matriculation heads and spoke to them about the scheme last year. We are looking for the results in the first week of October," he said.

According to him, it is enough if the tests are conducted in the first term. Details about the best students who score 10 out of 10 in one test and 8 or 9 in two more tests should be sent to the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. The report card must be signed by the physical education teacher, the class teacher and the parent/ guardian.

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