Justification for Operating the Tennis Association Leads to Reversal of Dissolution
City Disabled Sports Association’s Judo Team to Be Transferred to Semi-Professional Team System
Sejong City has decided to reorganize and operate its tennis team, which is a semi-professional team, at the minimum scale with two male and two female players. This decision was made just one month after Sejong City Mayor Choi Minho held a meeting with the heads of sports associations.
In particular, it is being evaluated that the strong determination of Lee Jongcheol, President of the Tennis Association, and the players-who fought hard to prevent the team from being disbanded despite illness-led to the reversal of the disbandment plan.
According to Sejong City on October 16, Mayor Choi shared opinions and sought efficient management methods through meetings with sports associations, which led to this outcome.
Previously, at a meeting held on September 17 with the Sejong City Sports Council and its member sports associations, the city proposed several options: organizing the team with four male players only, four female players only, or two male and two female players each; and reallocating the budget saved from disbanding the team to the construction of an all-weather tennis court.
However, after gathering input from all 36 member sports associations, including the Tennis Association, a consensus was reached to operate a small-scale tennis team consisting of two male and two female players. With this arrangement, the team will participate in various competitions in the future, but will only be able to compete in certain events (either team or individual events) due to its limited size.
In particular, the plan to establish the "Eoullim Judo Team," comprised of both athletes with and without disabilities, was canceled due to the city's financial situation. The judo team for athletes with disabilities, which was previously operated under the Disabled Sports Association, will be converted as planned into a semi-professional team under the city government.
Since the judo team for athletes with disabilities is already receiving subsidies from the city, there will be no additional financial burden on the city as a result of its conversion to a semi-professional team. Going forward, the city plans to operate two semi-professional teams and conduct comprehensive evaluations to develop more efficient management strategies.
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