KUALA LUMPUR: Former national gymnast Sarina Sundara Rajah has reminded the sporting authorities about the important role that clubs play in talent development and how funding them can substantially boost production.
Sarina said she was pleased to see the Malaysian government taking a proactive stance towards investing in talent development after recently turning down an offer to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh earlier this week said she would rather see funds being pumped back into the sporting ecosystem and boost talent production, placing an emphasis on the school system and sports associations, rather than host expensive international competitions.
"This decision (to invest in talent production) is an opportunity to raise important questions and prompts the need for a broader discussion on nurturing sustained growth," said Sarina today.
"While sports associations and government-funded bodies play crucial roles in talent development, there is another seemingly parallel universe (clubs).
"Many private clubs at the grassroots level are equally committed to building excellence and producing top-performing athletes.
"Together, they form an all-encompassing network of entities critical to the national value chain for athlete development.
"Government policy could easily adopt a more whole-of-system approach by including these private grassroots clubs as part of the talent-building ecosystem.
"For example, providing catalytic funding to grassroots clubs would help them become a major source of new talent, which they develop and nurture.
"The funding would help create new opportunities for these clubs to build active pipelines of talent-spotting, recruitment, training and finessing as well as spur innovation and encourage collaboration.
"Clubs could create more competitive events, bring in 'masterclass' resource persons from among the best in the world, develop curricula and training programmes that make for the wholesome development of athletes, not only in terms of physical peaks but also mental toughness and well-being."
Sarina is the founder and principal coach at Sarina Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, which has trained thousands of athletes since being setup in 2004.
There are over 100 gymnastics clubs, active to varying extents, in Malaysia.
Besides providing direct funding, Sarina added that there are various ways for the government to help clubs boost talent production and pave the way for them to become financially self-sustainable in the future.
"The instruments of support to grassroots clubs can go beyond catalytic funding," she said.
"An overall package of incentives and recognitions can be imagined. Tax breaks, coaches' support programmes, exchange and learning programmes, and showcasing could be considered supportive actions.
"The role of data and digital technologies could be harnessed to become powerful tools in the talent-building endeavour.
"In India, any public member can choose and come forward to 'adopt' any player, sport, hostel, or sports infrastructure. All information is online, open and therefore wholly transparent.
"This 'crowdfunding' model is proving remarkably effective, with many sportspersons securing corporate sponsorships with a little showcasing support from the government.
"Once well-seeded, these clubs could scale for sustained impact, create newer programmes and build an overall track record that attracts investors and sponsors.
"They can then spin-off business models that no longer rely on government financing and redeploy them to new frontiers of talent development."
Sarina, gold medallist at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, is also founding president of Safe Sport Malaysia.