All arrangements for the 65th State School Sports Festival to be held at Kunnamkulam in Thrissur next week have been completed, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said.
The sports fete will be held at Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, Kunnamkulam, from October 16 to 20. Thrissur is hosting the event after a gap of 15 years. More than 3,000 contestants, half of them girls, will participate in six categories at the fete — sub-junior boys and girls (under 14); junior boys and girls (under 17); and senior boys and girls (under 19). There will be 98 events at the meet, including 86 individual events, two cross-country contests, and 10 team events (relay). Nearly 350 officials, team managers, and trainers will also attend the meet.
Like the 64th State School Sports Festival last year, this year too the event will be held day and night.
The State School Sports Festival has been held early this year as the national school competition is scheduled to be held in the second week of November and the 37th National Games at Goa from October 26 to November 9. Winners of sub-district and district-level contests held in all districts will participate in the event.
Modern equipment such as display board, photo finish camera, wind gauge, foul start detector, start indicate system, LED wall has been arranged for the event.
Sixty volunteers will be deployed. There will be separate orientation for officials and volunteers. A mess that can seat 1,000 people simultaneously has been arranged in the ground adjoining the stadium.
The competition will be telecast live on KITE Victers channel. Results and relevant parts of the contests will be shown immediately on a screen set up at the stadium and on the website www.sports.kite.kerala.gov.in
A medical team comprising personnel from all system of medicine and sports physiotherapy and ambulance facilities will be arranged. Seventeen subcommittees will ensure that the meet is held without any hurdles. The contestants will be put up in 15-odd schools. Nearly 20 buses from schools will be used to transport the athletes.
A torch rally in connection with the meet will begin from the Thekkinkadu grounds in the heart of Thrissur town on Monday morning. It will reach Kunnamkulam around 5 p.m. The contests will begin at 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
The Director of General Education will hoist the flag at 9 a.m. A students’ march past, lighting of the torch, and the inaugural ceremony will be held at 3.30 p.m. Cultural programmes by students from various schools will follow. The competitions will resume at 6 p.m. and conclude at 8.30 p.m. On the remaining days, the events will begin at 6.30 a.m. and end at 8.30 p.m.
The valedictory of the meet and distribution of prizes will be held at 4 p.m. on October 20. The top three winners will get ₹2,000, ₹1,500, and ₹1,250, respectively, a certificate, and medal.
The districts bagging the top three positions will get a cash prize of ₹2.2 lakh, ₹1.65 lakh, and ₹1.1 lakh, respectively. Individual champions in each category will get a 4-g gold medal. Students setting State records will get ₹4,000. Nearly 40 trophies will be presented, including for the best two schools.
