KOTA KINABALU: Parents are expressing frustration over the poor organisation of a state-level taekwondo championship held in Putatan here.
Organised by the United Taekwondo Sabah Association (UTSA), the four-day tournament that began yesterday saw the participation of 43 for gyeokpa, 585 for kyorugi, 456 for poomsae, and 153 for the speed kick category.
Despite having more than 1,200 participants from around the state and Miri, the organiser chose the small venue at Dewan Sri Putatan.
It is learnt that the participation fee is RM60 for each category per person, which means the organisation collected at least tens of thousands of ringgit.
According to the management, Dewan Sri Putatan can accommodate less than 1,000 people for a wedding event.
A parent from Tambunan, who wants to be known as John, said he spent a lot of money for his children to join the competition.
"Apart from the registration fee and other expenses, we are also paying for homestay for the 4-day tournament.
"Despite the tournament being state-level, the organisation was very poor in terms of the choice of venue, which saw the participants cramped in the hall for hours.
"Even the toilet is dirty and without water."
Another mother, Angeline Tan, 35, said the master had told her son to fast the night before the weigh-in, which was supposed to be scheduled at 8am.
However, she said the weigh-in only started around 11am, and her child was suffering from gastritis.
"It is surprising that despite it being a state-level tournament, they only used one weighing scale for thousands of participants, and there was minimal manpower to handle the event.
"Other parents shared that the tournament had always been like that in previous years, despite them lodging complaints, but there is no improvement."
Meanwhile, UTSA president Francis Langkab said that the large-scale tournament has been held at the venue for many years, but no one has said anything.
Regarding the delayed weigh-in, he said it was due to having to check participants' documents.