Othman (third left) teaches Rodziah how to hold a petanque boule.

BINTULU: More playgrounds will be built in villages here to enable young people to enjoy all sorts of sports activities.
Bintulu Development Authority general manager Rodziah Morshidi said BDA was identifying suitable sites for playgrounds.

This effort, she said, was meant to enhance engagement with the local community, through sports activities.

“When they (playgrounds) are developed, the public must look after them properly because the rate of vandalism in Bintulu is high. We keep losing lots of equipment and many public facilities are damaged,” said Rodziah when officiating at the two-day Sarawak Open Petanque Triple tournament here yesterday.

Also present were Sarawak Petanque Association (Pepsar) chairman Othman Mat and secretary Janudin Ab Rahman.

Responding to Pepsar’s request for a permanent court at Bintulu Old Airport, she said management of the court would be handed to Pepsar soon.

Meanwhile, Pepsar deputy chairman cum organising chairman, Samsudin Abdul Razak, said among the objectives of the tournament were to promote petanque to the public and to increase networking and friendship among the participants. Eighty-eight teams from across the country and neighbouring countries, such as Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand, are taking part in the tournament. Samsudin said there were 46 teams in the Men’s Open, 16 in the Women’s Open and 26 in the Veteran categories. They are vying for the Datuk Talib Zulpilip Challenge Trophy.

On a related matter, he said Pepsar needed better facilities to promote the game here.

“Pepsar has requested a site next to Bintulu Civic Centre to build a Petanque Complex that can accommodate 16 indoor courts and 24 open courts.

“We hope BDA will consider our request. With this proposed complex, we can organise more big events in the future,” said Samsudin.