Inter-school Championships: Updated instruction booklet still awaited

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, July 12

As the UT Education Department prepares to host inter-school championships after a gap of two years, local schools are awaiting for an updated copy of instruction booklet. It has not been updated for over a decade now.

The department should update the instruction booklet every year. There are several games, which have included in the School Games Federation of India calendar in the past 10 years. Every year, weight categories of certain disciplines get changed. A coach

The inter-school championships are scheduled to start from July 26 with tournaments such as badminton (U-17), basketball (U-14 & U-17), baseball (U-14 & U-17), chess (U-14 & U-17), fencing (U-14 & U-17), football (U-14), artistic and rhythmic gymnastics (U-14 & U-17), table tennis (U-14 & U-17) and boys’ U-14 cricket.

As per the championship’s notification, the instruction booklet, published by the UT Education Department, will be consulted for any clarification regarding the inter-school championships. The Director School Education (DSE) will have all right to change any of the rules and regulations for the benefit of players and promotion of sports without assigning any reason. However in absence of the instruction booklet, participating schools are not clear about the rules and regulations of the championships.

“The booklet is yet to be updated. However, all rules and regulations are already conveyed to the schools. Even the notification (calendar) for conducting the inter-school championships carries all necessary rules and regulations for the schools,” said a senior official of the department, while requesting anonymity.

Coaches claimed that in the absence of a proper instruction booklet, it was hard to follow updated rules. Questions were also raised over the powers given to the DSE for changing the rules under the clause for ‘benefit of players’.

“The department should update the instruction booklet every year. There are several games which have included in the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) calendar in the past 10 years. Every year, weight categories of certain disciplines get changed,” said a coach.

Another coach said: “For instance, rules and regulations mentioned in the inter-school notification don’t carry anything for withdrawal and walk-out by teams or about complaints or protests and penalties or anything about conditions for organising tournaments. Such things are only available in the instruction booklet, which a majority of the schools don’t have.”

While the notification doesn’t mention anything on participation of schools, as per Chapter 1 (verse 1) of the instruction booklet, schools having less sports facilities have been guided to participate in at least three events from kho-kho, kabaddi (national style), kabaddi (circle style), football, volleyball and basketball. “There are several differences between the instruction booklet and the notification. For instance, the notification mentions the sport approved for graduation by the UT Sports Department, but the instruction booklet mentions some disciplines, which are not affiliated by the Sports Department,” said the coach.

While these games are organised following the SGFI calendar and rules, coaches also demanded that the department should consider the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) rule to conduct these games.

“A lot has changed in these past years and the Education Department should also consider the AIU rules, especially for the U-19 category. For instance, if the AIU has added golf events to its calendar, the department should give exposure to golfers on the similar lines. Similarly, the AIU doesn’t give weightage to men’s softball, but the department still organises it,” said a senior coach working at a college.

Championships from July 26

The inter-school championships are scheduled to start from July 26 with tournaments such as badminton (U-17), basketball (U-14 & U-17), baseball (U-14 & U-17), chess (U-14 & U-17), fencing (U-14 & U-17), football (U-14), artistic and rhythmic gymnastics (U-14 & U-17), table tennis (U-14 & U-17) and boys’ U-14 cricket.