Still excelling after 10 years

31/12/2002

SPORTEXCEL turned 10 this year but its achievements surpassed all
boundaries and with continued support from its Charter Members, the
National Sports Council and the solid backing of Nestle Products Sdn Bhd, junior athletes in Malaysia can always count on the Foundation for
support.
Its annual budget is RM500,000 but according to SportExcel Executive
Director Teng Mui Ngee, SportExcel has managed to save about RM100,000 to be utilised for the following year.
"We have been supporting numerous junior events in the country on a
shoestring budget, but always save some money for next year's programme because one never knows when some charter members might decide to cut back," said Teng.
Magnum Corporation Bhd was the latest to join SportExcel this year and
handed a cheque for RM45,000, for the next three years, but are looking
for a specific sport to help nurture in 2003.
"Magnum, with strong ties to taekwondo, has suggested that we organise a national championship for exponents and the matter will be discussed at our next meeting," said Teng.
Shalin Zulkifli (bowling), Ong Beng Hee, Nicol David (squash) and Ben
Leong (golf) are some of the household names who grew up with SportExcel funding.
For their contribution to the sport, squash stalwarts Ong and Nicol and
bowler Shalin were inducted into SportExcel's Hall of Fame at the Royal
Selangor Club in Dataran Merdeka in July.
There was, however, for the second consecutive year, no recipient for
SportExcel's Award of Excellence but another squash player, Low Wee Wern, was awarded the Special Award.
The 12-year old from Penang was awarded the Special Award based on her outstanding performances in various age-group competitions abroad.
Among Wee Wern's achievements are winning the Queensland Junior
Championships (Under-13), Hong Kong Junior Open (Under-13) and Scottish Junior Open (Under-13).
This year was special for SportExcel because the Foundation held its
Grand Finals on a carnival basis, but for 2003, it may be different.
"We held all the Grand Finals on a carnival basis this year to help
States select athletes for the Sabah Malaysia Games, but faced many
logistic problems because it was a mammoth project.
"Next year, we are planning to hold the various Grand Finals on
different dates. Maybe for the year 2004, when Negri Sembilan host the
Malaysia Games, we might revert to the carnival system," said Teng.
All States utilised the SportExcel-NSC-Milo-MSSM National Junior
Circuits Grand Finals to gauge the performances of its athletes before the
Sabah Malaysia Games, and found it very beneficial.
The sports that were featured in the Grand Finals at the National Sports
Complex in Bukit Jalil were cycling, squash, gymnastics (rhythmic and
artistic), sepaktakraw and athletics.
Several other sports were held outside Bukit Jalil like bowling (Pyramid
Megalanes at Bandar Sunway), shooting (Subang Shooting Range), swimming-diving (Kuala Lumpur Swimming Complex in Cheras) and tennis (National Tennis Centre at Jalan Duta).
Cricket, meanwhile, was played by two combined teams - North and South at the Royal Military College in Sungai Besi.
"SportExcel, in only 10 years, has shown results which we never expected
so soon. We could not have done it without support from our Charter
Members," said Teng.
SportExcel Charter Members: The New Straits Times, Permanis Sdn Bhd, Kodak (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, HSBC Malaysia Berhad, Carslberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd, IGB Corporation Bhd, Antah Holdings Bhd, Nestle Products Sdn Bhd, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Sistem Television (M) Bhd, Esso Production Malaysia Inc, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, WTW Lehrer MC Govern Sdn Bhd, Resorts World Bhd, Paul Chuah & Co, Ancom Berhad, Sports
Toto Malaysia Bhd, Aluminium Company of Malaysia Bhd, IJM Corporation Bhd, PanGlobal Insurance Bhd, Magnum Corporation Bhd, National Sports Council.
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