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Transporting equipment nightmare for athletes
National archer Riau Ega Agatha is nervous whenever he has to travel overseas for competitions
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span>National archer Riau Ega Agatha is nervous whenever he has to travel overseas for competitions. But it is not a fear of flying that makes him so uneasy, but rather how to keep his bow and arrows intact.
Disaster struck when the 27-year-old found the case of his bow was broken when he reached the Netherlands in June. He was part of the Indonesian archery squad that competed at the 2019 World Archery Championships in Hertogenbosch.
“When I found out there was a hole in [my bow’s] case, I was disappointed,” Ega told The Jakarta Post recently.
“I don’t know why the case was broken. Maybe it got thrown out [when it was unloaded from the airplane]. And I couldn’t do much about it.
“I bought a new case in the Netherlands afterward. My bow was fine, but I was afraid there were splinters,” he added.
Riau has experienced various such ordeals when traveling for competitions with his sporting gear. From the broken case to debating with aviation security officers regarding the bow and arrows.
“Once the [local airport] officers went through my luggage and [nearly] barred me from taking my gear with me,” said Riau, without further elaboration. “My coaches spoke with them, they understood and eventually allowed me to take my gear on.
“Now, I always bring two bows every time I compete abroad. If one is broken, I can still compete. In a competition, I also use them both alternately,” he added.
The archer is one of the best in the country and he has sealed a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Riau earned the golden ticket after bagging a bronze in the 2018 Asian Games continental multisport event at home.
Riau’s teammate Diananda Choirunisa also shared a similar experience.
Diananda recalled that her sporting gear was once held at Hong Kong International Airport during a transit to China in 2014. At that time, she was going to compete in the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.
“During the security check, [the airport officers] held my gear and put it away in a cardboard box, which was too fragile for such equipment,” she said.
“At that time, I was traveling only with one teammate and we couldn’t speak fluent English so there was some [misunderstanding],” said Diananda, adding that the incident ended well with the officers letting them on with their gear.
Archers are not the only athletes who have trouble traveling with their gear — track and field athletes have a similar problem.
The Indonesia Athletics Association (PASI) said it still could not figure out how to solve the troublesome matter of bringing pole vaulting poles overseas.
Indonesia has very few pole vault athletes, so the country rarely sends them to compete abroad.
However, when PASI decided to send 19-year-old pole vaulter Idan Fauzan Richsan to athletics championships in Finland last year, it ended up with Idan canceling the trip because of the airline’s policy, which restricted such equipment.
Idan was supposed to gain experience at Finland’s 2018 International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Under-20 World Championship — along with compatriot Lalu Muhammad Zohri, the fastest sprinter in Southeast Asia. He is currently the country’s pole vault favorite, after clearing a jump of 5.3 meters at the 2018 ASEAN School Games in Malaysia.
PASI secretary-general Tigor Tanjung said he had no idea about the airline’s restriction policy. “They refused to transport the pole [...]. I have spoken in an [athletics] international forum and there are some countries that have experienced a similar problem. However, those in Europe don’t experience this,” he said, adding that even international airlines refused to transport the pole.
