With BOSM just around the corner, the BOSM English Press sat down with the captain of the girls’ swimming team, Navya Badaya, to discuss the team’s preparation, expectations, and goals for the same.
Navya stated that, although being a small team of just seven girls, they were highly committed and set to take on this year’s BOSM. When asked about the training sessions, Navya mentioned that it usually began with warm-up exercises to help swimmers loosen up, which included strength, cardio, and ‘literally everything’. Further, she added that while everything was going smoothly, the only major hurdle they faced was the lack of a swimming pool within the campus. This had made regular training sessions a challenge due to the lack of flexible practice hours and additional paperwork—as the team was dependent on facilities outside the campus, making training subject to various external factors beyond their control.
Another major thing the team missed out on, because of the distance, was the crowd cheer, Navya stated. Although the venue was not very distant from campus, the additional travel involved often discouraged the audience. Leaving the team devoid of any familiar cheers or encouragement that others would have experienced at home.
Navya highlighted that one of the key lessons she had learnt over the course of different competitions was that success depends not only on how much you practice, but also on the mindset you bring into the pool. She added that in earlier editions, the students of SRCC had fared the best and were really well trained, owing to most of them being swimmers competing on the national level as well, which gave them a distinct edge in competition.
On the BOSM format, this year swimming will consist of various events such as 50-metre, 100-metre, 200-metre, mixed, and relay races—generally in four strokes ( freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly). Moving forward to her experience as a captain, Navya reflected that the experience had been both rewarding and hectic. It had taught her that being a captain involved more than just overseeing the team’s functioning; it also entailed taking on various managerial responsibilities and ensuring that everything ran smoothly.
She also shared that her interactions with the CoSSAc and the institute had been smooth to date, and expressed her gratitude for their support. On a parting note, she emphasised the importance of maintaining a balance between academics and sport, and the need to effectively juggle both commitments.