The International Athletic Preparation Board will provide athletes full financial support and practice equipment in hopes of winning gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.
Sorawuth Maharom, advisor to the International Athletic Preparation Board, and his team visited athletes and executives of the Windsurfing Association of Thailand at the Surf Kitchen restaurant in Jomtien Beach on May 25.
Sorawuth said that apart from boosting the morale of athletes, the visit was to check the readiness of associations in the East, including the national associations of windsurfing, yacht racing, triathlons and sports for the disabled.
Each group will be surveyed for problems and obstacles to be addressed in the government’s four-year Olympics-development plan, which has a budget of 500 million baht.
The plan aims to develop athletes in all sports, especially the new wave athletes to represent Thailand national teams at the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games, which earn them points towards qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 games.
Sorawuth said the Windsurfing Association is viewed as having a good development plan, but can’t provide its athletes enough support. Some of its responsibilities should be delegated to the Sports Authority of Thailand which can leverage government support funds, he said.
