Summer camps are significant platforms for children to hone their skills in various activities, said chess Grandmaster M.R. Lalith Babu.
Addressing inaugural session of ‘Sheer Fun under the Sun”, a summer camp organised by The Hindu , in association with Icon Public School in the city, Mr. Babu told the young participants that his career in chess also started with a summer camp he had joined to hone his skills in the 64-square board game. “Support of parents is very essential,” he stressed, adding: “I hope this camp will also produce world-class chess champions.”
He advised children not to waste their summer vacations sitting in front of TV or Internet. “Chess is not only a sport, it also helps in academics as the game of mind improves concentration and memory power. I tell people who ask me tips to master the game not to rely on computer. Instead, they should depend on books, which have better analysis of the game. Of course, of late, a few good softwares have been developed to help people improve their game,” he said.
The summer camp is being organised in two separate batches — April 24 to May 15 and May 10 to May 31 — in sports and other activities like chess, rifle shooting, arts and crafts, abacus, painting, hand-writing and western dance.
The activities ran parallel in different classrooms and after the inaugural, the participants were asked to head to their respective areas. The first floor was where a team of rifle-shooters was gearing up to teach the nitty-gritty of the sport to the young learners. “Besides sharp focus, patience and dedication is key,” said C. Chaitanya and C. Vijay Pardhasarathi, the brother-sister duo that leads the team. “Rifle shooting has been made a part of a summer camp in the city for the first time. We want children to make use of this opportunity. The best part is that the sport equipment, which is very expensive, is being provided by our academy,” said the two.
“We want to constitute a strong team of rifle-shooters in Andhra Pradesh. This sport also facilitates many benefits in academic career,” says Ms. Chaitanya.
The Icon Public School is a newly-set up institution, which will start operating from the forthcoming academic year. “We want our children to stand out in the crowd and this is possible only with a dynamic syllabus we have designed,” said Kajol C., school Principal, adding that the school will follow CBSE curriculum. “Our target strength is 250 and we intend to take in not more than 25 to 30 students in one class to begin with,” said Mohit Aditya, associated with the school.
Chairman of the school K. Rajendra and others were present at the inaugural.
The camp will be held in two batches -- April 24 to May 15 and
May 10 to May 31
