An Olympian writes

by Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam

In villages and urban areas in Sri Lanka children play softball cricket, soccer, running and jumping after school, weekends and during end-of-term holidays. This article is based on my experience from 1943. Children can use space available in areas near their houses or in space available around their house. Children are creative, to plan, execute and resolve their problems and learn from their errors.

It is important for children to actively take part in sports with whatever facilities available. If none are available to make them, they can play indigenous games that uses legs, hands, running, jumping, balls, seeds, marbles to create strategies, problem solving and decision making, and learn social and sportsmanship skills. In all games the participants will learn to abide by the rules and decision made by the Referee or Umpire.

In athletics, we dug high jump and pole vault pits. We loosened the soil with a spade. The high jump and pole vault posts were two thick straight branches from the Poovarasu tree planted permanently with nails driven two inches apart. The bar was a one-inch thick branch of the same tree. The pole was a straight branch thicker than the cross bar.

At school, the high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault pits were filled with sand. The pole vault standards were made of wood with a base. It had a movable part inside the main post that can be raised to 12 or 13 ft. For high jump the same posts or posts 6’ 6″ with a base is used. All wooden posts were made by carpenters in Jaffna adopting design in sports books or modeled after the posts in schools in Colombo. The poles were bamboo of different length and thickness. They were cured in fire made from dry leaves to strengthen them.

The loosened soil or sand in the jumping pit dictated we land in one or both feet in the high jump or pole vault. The bar clearance was sideways or chest facing the bar. In the high jump most used the scissors style and land in one or both feet. Older jumpers used Eastern Cut Off. In that style they ran from the front of the bar, made a curve going outside one of the posts and took off with one foot.

In 1948 we read in the papers the results of the athletic events. We saw the pictures of events. We saw Harrison Dillard won the 100m. Australian John Winter won the high jump using the Eastern Cut-Off style. In 1949 my school Principal, Rev. C.A. Smith took the whole school to see the London Olympics at the Regal Theatre near the Fort. We saw the 400m hurdles and Duncan White winning Silver Medal. It is then I wanted to compete in an Olympic Games someday. Did not tell anyone. I did not think at that time that I will take part in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

I am sure a 14-year-old or older watching the 2020 (2021) Olympics on television will be inspired to train to take part in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games or Los Angeles Games in 2028.

If you are a beginning high jumper dreaming of competing in future Olympic Games, start with jumping using the scissors style. But with a run-up with a 4-stride curve at the end before you take-off. A sand pit, or a pit with loosened soil is sufficient. The posts and bar can be from branches like described above. This advice is for high jumpers, coaches and parents. Such beginning will help to learn the fundamentals of high jumping and requirements for a technically correct run-up and take-off. It will help to clear the bar using the flop style. When you can jump 1.55m or 1.60m with scissors you can then learn to jump using the flop from an experienced coach who has coached high jumpers who had jumped at least two metres or higher.

Many people, parents and teachers often assume that, jumping, running, hurdling and throwing does not teach children about what is required by the curricula and National Examinations. This is far from the truth. Athletics, cricket, football and other games teach principles of science, especially physics. We learn principles of social science, mathematics and about the working of the muscles, exhaustion, recovery and abiding by the rules of the games and decisions of referees and umpires. A sportsperson is consumed by sports and desire to excel they spend much of their study time daydreaming or figuring out how best to practice and perform better.

The best way the education system can help the sportspersons to do well in sports and studies is to require students to earn credit passes in the subjects at the end of a term to represent the school and take part in sports. The sportspersons will earn the Credit pass grade to represent the school and take part in sports. Such a system is practiced in the school and university system in the United States. Those who represent the United States in the Olympic Games or win medals are all either students in universities or graduates of universities. Sri Lanka athletes and sportspersons have the same capacity to be great in studies and sports if opportunities to learn and compete.

The choice is ours to motivate and give the opportunities to our sportspersons to excel in sports, studies and profession.