Metro

Tuesday February 7, 2012

Dropout rate in advanced sports management course alarming


THE organisers of this year’s advanced sports management course are taking early steps to reduce the alarming dropout rate for the fifth edition of the programme provided by the Olympic Solidarity and Olympic Council of Malaysia.

In their bid to get a good headstart, programme director Wan Yew Leong said they were lining up two sessions of one-hour sneak previews to set the potential candidates on the right track.

“It is distressing that almost 50% of the participants could not complete the course due to various reasons in the first four editions.

“We believe Malaysian sports administrators can do much better in gaining the qualification fully funded by the Olympic Solidarity. Our aim is to create awareness on the expectations and demands of the programme before they decide to take up the challenge and sign up for the course.

“It is important to introduce an acceptable standard in selecting the participants. They will need to show reasonable commitment level to pull through. It is unfair and defeats the purpose when they find out that they could not cope halfway through the programme,” added Yew Leong, who graduated from the course in 2009.

The brief introduction sessions are scheduled at the OCM office in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 18 and March 3.

The main goal of the eight-month programme is to arm the participants with the adequate skills in initiating positive changes when they return to their respective sport organisations.

The classroom learning process is spread over a total of 15 days and divided into four separate sessions.

Each session is hosted over a duration of three to four days starting from March 23.

The six key areas covered are Olympic sports organisation and managing strategically (March 23-25); managing human resources and managing finance (May 10-13); managing marketing and organising a major sport event (July 12-15); and presentation and discussion of the learning process (Oct 4-7).

Yew Leong said they were recruiting between three and six facilitators with expertise in at least one of the six modules to assist the participants.

“We are inviting them to serve as tutors and share real experiences in their specific areas. They will also guide and provide the participants with references to tackle their assignments,” he added.

Besides presentation on each of the topics, the participants are also required to demonstrate in-depth understanding of the course and submit written case studies using the tools they have picked up at the end of the course.

“They are given a month to hand in their final report after the course. The written report has been the main hurdle from them to clear. We have to be strict on them meeting the deadlines.

“It is mandatory for participants to attend all classes. In the past, we have allowed several participants with valid reasons to defer their studies,” said Yew Leong, adding they will be sending the best section of the participants’ projects to the Olympic Solidarity.

The hosts can accommodate up to maximum of 20 participants for the upcoming course. They have allocated 13 places for the OCM affiliates as well as representatives from state and national sports associations. Meanwhile, the seven remaining slots are available for keen sports followers from sport clubs, universities, colleges and government sport agencies.

Application fee is RM100 and entry closes on Feb 20. For details, visit www.olympic.org.my

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