S Ramakrishnan, CEO, Sportsmentor, tells Nikhil Dawar about how the Respect Championship Programme would encourage schools and students to undertake sports activities and make a career out of it
What is this Respect Championships programme all aboutIJ
We’ve tied up with Association of Schools for Indian School Certificate (ASICS) in Karnataka to filter the best talent in the next five years. It’s first edition has already started from July 19 while the National finals will take place in eight locations in November. It has about 2000 schools in 11 regions of India. The competitions will be held in eight disciplines — basketball, football, volleyball, athletics, cricket, lawn tennis, hockey and swimming.
Tell us about your Balanced Report Card ProgrammeIJ
This programme is a part of the initiative in which the student’s fitness status will be monitored. It will be customised according to the sports physics, nutrition and sports physiology programs developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
What is the procedure to apply for this unique programmeIJ
There is no strict procedure to apply. The competitions will be conducted in the schools and the winners will get a chance to play intra-school and inter-school competitions and then eventually they will qualify for the nationals. The idea is to increase awareness and push more youngsters into sports which will lead to overall development of the student and sportspersons in the country.
Tell us about the coachesIJ
We’ve got coaches for K-12 classes. Our present coaches are being certified by the International Olympic Association. We are also providing soft skills training to coaches so that they are acceptable in schools.
How do you plan to go ahead with talent identification IJ
We’re in talks with different sports agencies such as World Squash Foundation, Sports Authority of India (SAI) etc and want to work closely with them in bringing the best talent to the top not only from the metros but also the tier 2 and tier 3 cities. We’re trying to push the focus on sports education from Physical Education.
What is the purpose of launching this programmeIJ
Schools in India have space and budget problem. We are majorly focusing you the Southern part of India and providing the schools with infrastructure. We also urge the schools to make sports curriculum mandatory so that students can gain multiple locomotive skills. Also, students should not stick to one sport as this would help their muscles develop and they can assess themself, which sports they can prosper in.
How important is the role of training and infrastructure in sports trainingIJ
Both training and infrastructure play an important role in building a sportsperson. Our aim is to make our youngsters participate in events like Youth Olympic Games so for that they need to be trained in world class infrastructure which can give them similar conditions. Proper scientific training and infrastructure at the grassroots level would make a huge difference and would help in producing talented players and champions.
How can technology play an important role in ensuring high performanceIJ
The problem of lack of coaches can be solved through the availability of technology. We can give students video based learning to understand and learn the insights.