Have you checked the points of our National athletes after the first round of competition at Batu Pahat? If you have not, go to the MPDC web site at http://www.mpdc.org.my/main/. You would notice that there are no points awarded to Wilson and Michelle but their names are in the Malaysian ranking list. They came out second and rightly so they deserve to be acknowledged.The reason for the blank is Wilson has written to me by way of email dated the 30th of August 2008, that he cannot commit to Team Dancesport Malaysia 2009 due to his studies and that his partner Michelle plans to go overseas in 2009. The date when the major Games will be held.
The council having deliberated this situation has decided that since he has voluntarily opted out of the selection, there are no further reason to award him any points from the Championship. Let me explain that the points are given to Malaysian dance athlete as a gauge for MDSB and MPDC to select those with the most points to be admitted for further training under the Team Dancesport Malaysia 2009. In the event you have declared your intention to decline being selected, the points served no purpose to you.
We would like to thank Wilson for being forthright and honest to MPDC and to me of his intentions that he cannot commit himself for the Games but nevertheless I personally wish him well and after he has completed his studies, maybe he would like to try other Championship selections by MPDC.
The other matter that is taken into account and really this is academic as in Wilson's case is that he has taken a neutral stand in Dancesport and he has made his intentions very clearly in his email to me. In short by taking a neutral stand what we understand is that he would like to dance in any competition that comes in his way. Again I personally respect that stand , and in my blog below, I did mention that it is a matter of choice for the dancers to choose which body they want to dance in.
Since he has made the choice by dancing in an unsanctioned competition, it is quite clear that he does not intend to be bound by the rules of MPDC/IDSF/MDSB/ADSF. As sports director I have this to say. In the National Ranking we are dealing with selecting the best athlete for Dancesport in Malaysia. In the Asian ranking we will see how our athletes fare in Asia compared to other athletes from the region. In the international ranking we have the international IDSF ranking for our athletes.
Please understand that we do not measure ourselves with other bodies that have their own standard in ranking their dancers, as I have pointed in my blog below. By that what I am harbouring is you cannot compare an apple run competition with an orange run competition. Simply because the apple run competition and the orange run competition runs on different rules and protocol. The rules are important to give order in a competition. We cannot have a free for all.
To all Grade A athletes in MDSB/MPDC you have made your choice to participate the National ranking. As a dancesport athlete you know your obligation and duties, that I do not have to spell out here. We expect a certain standard of self respect and discipline from you. In all organisation they have their rules and regulations and if you choose not to follow the rules and regulations, you do so at your own peril.
As for Wilson, he is a talented dancer and I am sure he will do fine in other competition and I wish him well.
Are we hard ? You decide, but rules are meant to be followed and I invite healthy discussion on this.
The picture is the prickly cactus, some may think it is a prickly issue, I do not think so.
