Incheon Sports Council's Administrative Error Dashes Athletes' National Sports Festival Hopes

Administrative blunders by the Incheon Sports Council have dashed the hopes of athletes in certain sports to compete in the National Sports Festival.

According to the Incheon Sports Council today (August 27), the women's soft tennis team under the council's corporate athletic division will not be able to participate in the upcoming National Sports Festival to be held in Jeju this coming October.

Soft tennis rules require teams to register six players with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee in order to compete in team events, individual singles, and doubles. However, a council employee mistakenly registered only five players.

It was found that the employee made a mistake while changing players for the doubles event, resulting in five players being registered instead of six.

Additionally, the sports council failed to process a player substitution on time for the women's high school golf division requested by the Incheon Golf Association. As a result, a higher-ranking player missed out on competing, while a lower-ranking player took her place.

An official from the sports council explained, "The golf association requested a player change on the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's registration deadline day due to a change in rankings, but we were unable to complete the change procedure within the time limit."

Lee Kyu-saeng, President of the Incheon Sports Council, apologized, saying, "I deeply feel responsible for administrative errors rendering the precious time and sweat-soaked preparations of our athletes in vain. We will promptly devise and implement the best possible support and compensation measures that the council can provide."

He added, "We will swiftly carry out strict disciplinary procedures against the employee in question and take personnel measures to firmly establish institutional discipline. Along with a thorough investigation into the truth, we will immediately implement phased preventive measures to ensure such an incident never happens again."

(Photo courtesy of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.