Sports Centres Hope to Cultivate Next Generation of Elite Athletes

Ethiopian sport officials are looking to improve the country’s performance in continental and international competitions. One way to do this is nurture the next generation of talent that can rise to the standard of world-class athletic excellence. To that end, the government has invested money in developing youth training centres. The Tirunesh Dibaba Sport Centre in the State of Oromia is one such place. EBR’s adjunct staff writer Abiy Wendifraw visited the Centre and spoke to sports insiders to learn about the potential and challenges in developing future athletic talent.

For Ethiopians, the country’s performance at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were not as glorious as the opening ceremony that took place in ‘The Bird’s Nest’ stadium. The country struggled to secure a single gold medal in some of the events many expected them to dominate.
Women’s marathon favourites Gete Wami and Berhane Adere could not even finish the race. Men’s marathon runners only managed to garner a bronze. As frustrations mounted, two of the 36 Ethiopian athletes in the squad that went to Beijing delivered the much-desired gold medals. Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele won gold each in the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre races. In total, Team Ethiopia eventually won four gold, one silver and two bronze medals. The result has been the country’s second best in its Olympic participation history.
But that summer’s Games signalled a larger reality within the Ethiopian athletics community. The country’s sport officials knew winning gold by a few world-class athletes in long-distance races would be harder to attain unless the talent pool grew.
As a result, the government decided to build a sport centre that can produce young talent to join the ranks of Ethiopia’s elite runners. “The late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s contribution in this effort was huge,” says Daniel Haile, Deputy Director of the Public Relations Directorate at the Ministry of Youth and Sport. “The implementation started in 2009, months after the Beijing Olympic Games ended.”
The sport centre, which is named after the Olympic gold medallist Tirunesh, is located 140km from Addis Ababa in the Arsi Zone of Oromia. The Centre received the first batch of 250 trainees in 2009. Since there were no facilities that were specifically built for the Centre, the Ministry had to buy eight block condominiums that were originally constructed by the municipality for residents. “The government paid ETB10 million for it and the first batch arrived,” according to Bizuneh Kebu, Director of the Sport Centre.
But the first six years were not very pleasant. Trainees endured severe challenges. Gegeso Tuka, 17, a girl who stayed there for four years, says the Centre leaves much to be desired. “I am a long jump trainee. We do not have the needed training kits,” she said. “Almost half of the students in our field of specialisation still train barefoot.”
Temesgen Ashe, 15, was recruited from Hawassa, the capital of the State of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. He did not hide the fact that the training centre did not live up to his expectations. “We do not have enough water to drink or for sanitation,” he told EBR. “The playing surface is very hard and dry.”
He says foot injuries are common because of the condition of the field. Still, the young footballer believes he is privileged to be among the trainees. “We have very good coaches with vast experience,” he says. “We play games against very good teams from all over the country. The results are inspiring. We won seven of the nine games we played in recent months.”
Bizuneh admits the problems mentioned by the trainees. “We know the situation and the challenges our trainees face. Now the new facility is a good answer to most of these problems,” he said, mentioning the sport complex, which was designed by Ultimate Plan and built by Zamra Construction at a cost of ETB250 million and encompasses administrative buildings, dormitories, a gymnasium, medical centre, library, cafeteria, shops, and athletics and football training fields.
“These facilities will help us develop more talent in different disciplines. The things we achieved so far are massive. Now we will build on that. Considering the limitations we had as an institution, we were very productive,” Bizuneh adds.
In the last six years, 96 students from the Centre represented Ethiopia in continental and global championships and secured six gold, five silver, 10 bronze medals and 19 participation diplomas. Recently, the women’s national team selected two footballers from the Centre. “We have five national record holders in athletics,” says the Training Centre Director. “You can imagine how big these numbers may grow when we acquire advanced facilities. The new complex can accommodate 700 students who will be recruited from all over the country.”
The students are happy to move to their new compound. But most of the trainees feel they are geographically disadvantaged compared their peers who joined the Ethiopian National Sport Academy, which is located in Addis Ababa.
“Clubs do not send their scouts here. Journalists do not visit us often. We feel we are isolated,” says Temesgen. The long jump athlete Gegeso also says she and her friends think that they would have enough spikes and other supplies had they joined the Academy.
“Being far away does not make them isolated….[They participate in] friendly games and different championships,” says Bizuneh. “Yes, we have problems regarding sport materials. We are struggling to find sport clothing and shoes in a required quantity and quality. Structurally, we are under the National Sport Academy. It is the Academy that announces tenders and receives bids to purchase sport materials. There is nothing we can do in this regard.”
Sirak Habtemariam (PhD), Director of the Ethiopian National Sport Academy, says the institution he leads is not free from problems either. “Locally, we have very few sport kit manufacturers that can deliver the required quality,’’ he told EBR. “Our budget is also limited. So we have the same shortages in our academy. But we are working to improve the situation.”
Despite the challenges, insiders say the future of athletic development looks bright. Officials from the Ministry of Youth and Sport seem satisfied with the progress they’ve observed in Assela. “This Sport Centre is the result of the first phase of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP I). The government is committed to construct 22 more sport centres throughout the country during the GTP II,” says Daniel. “In the near future, we will have many quality athletes in different sport disciplines.” EBR

4th Year • May 16 2016 – June 15 2016 • No. 39