Sports school for young athletes
By James Kon

The second intake of Brunei Darussalam's only sports school saw a total of 45 young athletes - 33 males and 12 females - who successfully gained a place at the centre.

In an interview with Pg Haji Hairin bin Pg Haji Ali, the warden of the men's hostel, he said that the students are taking up various sports including football, badminton, golf, track and field, sepak takraw and silat.

The prerequisites for gaining a place at the sports school are good PSR results and that students pass both their physical and medical tests.

For now, the sports school is utilising the classrooms of Sekolah Menengah Menglait for their academic learning. As for sports, the young athletes will train at various sporting venues around the capital.

The sports school hopes to give young athletes an opportunity to excel, not only in sports, but also academically.

Pg Haji Hairin proudly said that six of the school's athletes had represented Brunei at the Asean School Football competition in Pahang, Malaysia recently.

Touching on the issue of employment opportunities for the school's athletes, Pg Haji Hairin said that graduates of the sport school could pursue a career in coaching. As the students would have a sound knowledge of sports, they could also obtain a job at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, he explained.

To accommodate the growing number of intakes, Pg Haji Hairin said that the men's hostel might be moving to a newly renovated building in a few years time.

Currently, the male athletes are staying at a hostel near Puteri Hajah Masna Secondary School at Lambak Kanan while the females are being housed at the co-curriculum apartment.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin