| Member's News | No.41 June 2004 |

Sports Library in Nepal Diwakar Lal Amatya, National Association for Sports, Health & Fitness, Nepal |
Appeal for Donation of Sports Books for Establishing a Sports Library in Nepal Athletes in many countries strive to achieve excellence in sporting performance. At the same time, it has been observed that the performance of Nepalese sportsmen and women is not just unsatisfactory but very poor at the international level. Efforts, however, have been made to improve performance standards, but very little success has so far been achieved. The low economic standards of people, lack of scientific consciousness in the society, inadequate socio-political awareness of its importance and meager infrastructure facilities seem to be the main drawbacks for development in Nepal. There is no doubt that coaches should have a minimum educational background to help athletes during the long process of sports coaching. It is a concern to see that more than 40% of coaches working in the National Sports Council have only achieved a maximum of S.L.C (ie, completed 10 classes of school). Out of 308 coaches, 28.57 % have education up to Intermediate level (12 classes) and are followed by school graduates, making only 9.74 %. After more than half a century of participation in sports by Nepalese youth, there is no single sports library. Physical education standards are still in the developmental stage in Nepal. There is no institution to educate athletes and coaches in Nepal so most of the coaches and few physical education specialists have learned coaching and sports skills from India, a neighboring country. Now, they don’t have access to information and advanced knowledge available in their fields. The main cause is their low income status. Sports professional and physical education students and teachers cannot afford US$50 for a single book, which is why the National Association for Sports Health and Fitness is venturing to establish the first Sports Library in Nepal. With the help of ICSSPE, the IOC and Human Kinetics Publishing, we have already received 50 valuable sports and sports science books through the Share The Knowledge program. Dr. Keith Henschen, President of the International Society for Sports Psychology had sent 100 sports books relating to sports psychology, research methods and other similar topics. International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) President, Mike Marfell Jones of New Zealand, and Bill Ross from Canada are also helping with this venture. Students and teacher in physical education are facing scarcity of contemporary sports books and research journals, while they are preparing their thesis, which is why the standard of the university theses can be regarded as being in the infancy stage. We are of the firm opinion that until the standards of theses are upgraded, university standards cannot reach a higher level. Coaches and athletes are as a consequence, not getting information regarding recent sports technology development in the field of coaching science and training, which are taking place around the world. With all these background, we sincerely appeal to all organisation to be a part of this venture. Sports science books, research journals and other related sports library materials are most welcome for the development of sports and physical education in Nepal. Diwakar Lal Amatya President-National Association for Sports Health and Fitness 16/1 Nakabahil Lalitpur, Patan Nepal Ph: 9 77 155 3316 Fax: 9 77 155 42606 E-mail: mlamatya@ntc.net.np http://www.icsspe.org/portal/bulletin-June2004.htm Sports Library in Nepal Diwakar Lal Amatya, National Association for Sports, Health & Fitness, Nepal