KUALA LUMPUR – The National Hockey Development Programme (NHDP) reported a rise in the number of female coaches and trainees in its programme, National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail announced today.
He said the main factor contributing to the positive development was increased government funding.
“In 2021, there were only 38 (female) coaches but now it has increased to 68 coaches.
“It is actually a good improvement and also the numbers are getting better now”, he said when met at the launching of the Mirnawan Cup logo here, today.
The tournament was named after the national hockey icon and legend Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi and slated to be held from this Saturday to December 2 at Bukit Jalil Hockey Stadium.
Shapawi noted that passion towards the sport within the hockey fraternity also played a big role in making it possible to get more female participation.
“There are about 76 training centres for men’s teams, and 34 training centres for women’s teams nationwide.
“In 2021, there were only 2,190 under-13 and under-17 male trainees, and 438 under-14 female trainees this year. It has now increased to 3,400 male and 1,500 female trainees respectively.”
Shapawi also noted that there have been training programmes organised by NHDP mainly for female coaches such as technical courses, development training, as well as tournament judging courses.
He said that the initiative is aimed at encouraging more female participation in the sport and to provide them support in achieving better career paths in the industry as well as encouraging a competitive environment among athletes.
Meanwhile, he shared that an RM2 million budget has been allocated this year for 22 competitions organised by NHDP.
One of the programmes benefiting from the budget is the launch of this year’s Mirnawan Cup.
The inaugural international tournament will see 15 teams competing in the under-17 men’s team and under-14 women’s team categories.
Other countries that will also take part are Japan, India, and Singapore. – The Vibes, November 24, 2022
