Hargo.co.id – The largest student athletics competition in the country, a collaboration between the Indonesian Athletics Association (PB PASI) and DBL Indonesia, has reached its climax.
Titled the Energen Champion SAC Indonesia 2023 National Championship, held at Sriwedari Stadium, Solo, Central Java.
The fierce national competition is scheduled to last for three days, from January 18 to 20, 2024.
A total of 288 high school-level students representing six regional qualifiers or regional selection levels held from August to December last year will participate.
These include the Sumatera Qualifiers (in Medan), West Java Qualifiers (in Bandung), Bali-Nusa Tenggara Qualifiers (in Kupang), Central Java Qualifiers (in Semarang), DKI Jakarta-Banten Qualifiers (in Jakarta), and East Java Qualifiers (in Surabaya).
Participants in this National Championship are high school-level students who won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in five athletic events featured in the Energen Champion SAC Indonesia series, now in its second year.
These events include sprint (100 meters), middle distance (1,000 meters), relays (4×100-meter relay), long jump, and shot put.
They will compete for the title of SAC Indonesia champion this season. To earn rewards, they will undergo international training camps abroad supported by Pertamina.
After traveling from their respective cities, the 288 participants of the Energen Champion SAC Indonesia 2023 National Championship arrived in Solo on Thursday, January 18, 2024.
They headed straight to Sriwedari Stadium, where they engaged in an athletic clinic and sharing session with Suryo Agung Wibowo, a national sprinter from Indonesia.
They also had the opportunity to try out the track and practice at the legendary stadium, a pride of Solo residents built in 1933 and the venue for the first National Sports Week (PON) in 1948.
Discovering New Talents
Suryo Agung Wibowo discussed several topics, including the acceleration phase to maximum speed, which is crucial in a 100m sprint race.
The discussion arose when M. Deka Pratama, the 100m men’s champion from the Sumatera Qualifiers, asked about the initial 20m-30m running technique.
“I am certainly excited. Participating and witnessing the development of SAC Indonesia over the past two years. Recently, I accompanied these SAC Indonesia graduates to compete in the SEA Youth Athletics Championships, where some of them won gold medals.
Sharing knowledge like this is very enjoyable for me,” said Suryo Agung, who, after retiring from athletics, now actively participates as a talent scout for PB PASI.
Suryo stated that SAC Indonesia, also a collaboration event between PB PASI and DBL Indonesia, could be a place to discover various new talents.
“I hope more students who haven’t yet showcased their talents can be discovered. Also, it can further popularize athletics among young people, especially students, in line with the mission of organizing this event,” continued Suryo.
Participant Growth
In its first season (2022), the Energen Champion SAC Indonesia managed to attract over 31,000 students from more than 2,000 schools.
This season (2023), the number of participants increased by 42 percent. This includes school participation, which grew by over 100 percent.
Simultaneously with the Energen Champion SAC Indonesia 2023 National Championship climax held over three days (January 18-20, 2024) at Sriwedari Stadium, the supporting event Pertamina Junior Challenge, an athletics competition for elementary and junior high school students across Solo Raya, was also held.
A total of 1,790 students participated in the competition, which featured Kids’ Athletics, Middle Distance 800m, Relays 5x80m, Relays 8x50m, Sprint 60m, and Sprint 80m events.
The Central Java PASI Provincial Board, one of the organizers, expressed delight at the high interest in the total participation of 1,790 students in the Pertamina Junior Challenge.
This competition is expected to be an option for schools to send their students to develop interests and talents.
“The event is excellent. Events like this help our development programs. In the Central Java PASI Provincial Board, we happen to have early childhood development programs.
Usually, it’s only through other student championships or activities. With SAC, we can bring mass competitions,” said Herma Hayu, General Secretary of the Central Java PASI Provincial Board.
Pertamina Junior Challenge is presented by Pertamina, Energen Champion, PB PASI, and DBL Indonesia. The athletics competition for elementary and junior high school students in Solo Raya is one of the supporting events of the Energen Champion SAC Indonesia 2023 National Championship.
Masany Audri, Director of DBL Indonesia, expressed pride in Pertamina joining as the main supporter of the Pertamina Junior Challenge student competition.
According to him, this partnership can realize significant enthusiasm in developing athletics, together with PASI.
“Pertamina’s involvement in SAC Indonesia in its second year of implementation certainly adds fuel to our enthusiasm in developing athletics with PASI for elementary to high school students.
DBL Indonesia expresses many thanks for Pertamina’s participation because this partnership helps us realize our dream of continuously increasing the participation of Indonesian youth in sports,” said Masany Audri. (Fitri Apriani/Bola.net)