Ouk Sethycheat, director-general of sport at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, urged each of the Kingdom’s national sporting federations to behave with dignity and honour as they host their respective sports at the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and 12th ASEAN Para Games.
“Above all, you must respect the principles of fair play. This way, all of the nations that participate will have fond memories of their time in Cambodia,” he said.
Sethycheat addressed the opening ceremony of a February 14 workshop on “strategies for excellence”, held at the National Sports Training Centre (NSTC) headquarters. The event was attended by coaching staff and match officials from each of the national federations.
“Prime Minister Hun Sen made it clear that when Cambodia plays host to the games, there are to be none of the issues that have occurred when other nations have hosted. We will not take advantage of any of our guests, in terms of transportation, food, or accommodation, and especially not when it comes to the events themselves. We must behave with dignity and honour,” he said.
“We have been waiting for this historic event for 64 years, so we need to ensure that the event goes smoothly, and creates nothing but pleasant memories among all of the guest nations that participate. Although our focus is a top four finish on the medal table, it must be achieved fairly and cleanly. If we want to achieve this goal, we must all be prepared to word hard – together,” he added.
Pon Sok, president of the NSTC, said the workshop was attended by 149 participants from 42 of the Kingdom’s sporting federations. The event was part of a year-long Team Cambodia action plan, which had been created by the NSTC, in collaboration the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) and the individual federations.
Each month, evaluations are conducted of the match officials and coaching staff of each federation, as means of tracking progress ahead of the games’, and other international competition.
The workshop focused on several aspects of high-performance sport. Trainers and lecturers discussed training and coaching plans, physical therapy, coaches’ understanding of doping regulations and the psychological preparation of athletes.
Practical aspects of the games were also discussed, including medal ceremonies and internal team regulations.
