Issue three Editorial

Sometimes when there is a lot happening all around, when things have moved far from their roots, it becomes necessary to sit back and re-examine the basics and get the perspective right. The purpose of a college sports fest like BOSM is to give opportunity to show sport skills and learn through participating in events. But one cannot help but wonder if there is enough learning happening at this stage. Team-building, gamesmanship, treating the opponent fairly and with respect are all important learning points but so are meeting new people, developing tolerance for diversity in all aspects, broadening the understanding of things. The level of interaction between outstation participants and hosts just do not match up to expectations. But again the question arises – whose expectation? May be we have set the bar somewhere low enough to not bother about it.
Day one is over and so is some part of day two. We have seen some great matches, some forgettable ones. The society’s self created notion of hierarchy in sports is the reason for a lot of imbalances and frustrations. But the effort of BEP has been to cover all sports. Third Base will be back again with more news and views. Till then, play, cheer or jeer but join in anyway!

Panel Discussion

The BEP event, slated to begin at 5:00, got off to a rocky start forty five minutes behind schedule. However, the initial hiccups over the court set-up and the sound systems did not dampen the atmosphere. The panel were on the court and raring to go, even to the extent of beginning the discussion amongst themselves before the event began. The panel comprised Mr.G.K Pillai, CMD of Heavy Engineering Corporation, flown in from Ranchi especially for the evening, Dr. B.R Natarajan, Dean DLPD, the captain of the boys’ table tennis team of BITS, Pilani, Abhijit Kamath and former captain of the BITS girls’ basketball team, Smitha. And interestingly, also present were some of the local sports stars of back in the day- Arjuna award winners, national level players, state champions, winners of the President’s award for athletics- all from in and around Pilani, adding a personal touch to the otherwise formal event. The topic for the discussion was “Revitalizing sports in India- Policy Changes and Campus Involvement.” As the moderator, K.Ramya so perfectly put it, issues like these, however distant they seem, are in reality much closer to home than we realise.

Mr. G.K Pillai is an alumnus who has made BITS proud on the hockey field, playing at the national level in various tournaments. Mr. Pillai, having been active in the sporting society of our country, has an understanding of the situation as it stands today and provided valuable insights. The first thing he stressed on was that many changes must be brought about in the sporting scenario of our country and yet, in our planning of these changes we mustn’t be restricted by expectations of gold medals or instant fame. Dr. Natarajan stressed on the point that playing a sport goes a long way in developing a professional attitude and instils a drive to work hard and succeed; establishing the fact that ‘sport’ encompasses so much in terms of learning experiences.

Coming to the changes that the system must see, the primary point raised seemed to be lack of awareness. The students on the panel voiced their opinion that pressure from society prevents college students to take sport seriously, in turn encouraging an academic curriculum that is not conducive to the kind of training that competitive sport requires. This results in polarisation of the student population, one group purely academic and the other, purely concentrating on a professional sports career. However, Mr.Pillai rubbished the idea of sports quota calling it another method for backdoor entry to institutions.

In conclusion, the panel agreed unanimously that the introduction of some sport in the curriculum of colleges would be a great first step towards ‘revitalizing sport’ in our country, and at a very basic level, learning to take sport seriously. Dr Natarajan, also went to the extent of saying that someday he would like to see graduates from the IISS- the Indian Institutes of Sporting Sciences, a statement that was greeted with much applause from the audience. Ultimately, only when we start viewing sport as a necessary component to lead a healthy and satisfying life and not as an investment with out of proportions return, will we be able to see the real benefits that “play” can give us. Mr. Pillai bid Pilani goodbye on a positive note, saying that creation of awareness was a key factor and the panel discussion itself was a step in that direction. With these thoughts and ideas fresh in our minds, let’s greet the next three days of BOSM with a vigour and enthusiasm worthy of sport in all its vitality.

Fear Factor

Fear Factor, the all-new extreme adventure event organized by BOSM Sponz promises to be one which will keep your adrenalin levels high throughout its duration. The event gives the people who are not involved in the various sporting events a chance to show their physical prowess off the courts. Fear Factor will include activities like Zorbing, Rock Climbing, Flying Trapese and Spider Web. It is being organized by the Wanderlust Adventure Sports India, which is a well established player in this business. These events will commence from the tomorrow, the 13th and might continue for another day if the response is good. Students can sign up for individual events as well. All the participants would be equipped with proper safety gears so safety would be a non-issue. Mess signings for Fear Factor began yesterday and the response has been very encouraging. So if you think you are up to the challenge, go for it.

The newest cousins are here!

The evening of first day of BOSM saw some surprise participants in this fest – a team from the BITS Hyderabad campus. The campus started operations only as late as 28th August, 2008. So essentially in fifteen days time, the campus has sent out students to participate in a fest! The team has come here along with Mr. Gurnam Singh, Physical Director, BITS, Hyderabad campus. It consists of two girls and four boys. They are participating in Table Tennis, Carroms, Chess and Badminton events. Irrespective of their performance here, it is reassuring to see the newest members of BITS, Pilani’s extended network of campuses so eagerly participating in extra curricular activities so soon. The experience will definitely help the accompanying faculty and the students in organizing similar fest in their college. This is in sync with the approach BITS, Hyderabad campus has taken from day one wherein they invited some BITS, Pilani alumni to the orientation to understand how clubs and departments can be promoted on campus.

'Ignition' still in cold

The much awaited cyber gaming event, Ignition has been cancelled again this year. It was originally planned for last BOSM but things did not work out then. This BOSM things looked much better but the Sports Secretary has confirmed that the event cannot happen this BOSM. The main reason given to BEP is that the company with which there was to be a tie up was operating in a manner which was not according to institute’s normal procedures. Another problem was that World Gaming Championship in Delhi was clashing with this event. However, 2 days ago that championship got postponed as well. But now it is too late to work out things and hence the decision to cancel the event. So for all the gaming freaks in Pilani, it is another long year of waiting.