The members of the CoSSAc whose duty goes above and beyond ensuring the success of BOSM, are those belonging to the Sports Council. Appointed towards the end of the odd semester, their tenure lasts for a year. Broadly speaking, they concern themselves with increasing overall sporting activity on campus, amongst even the general BITSian populace.

A word with the Sports Secretary, Jayshil Joshi, provides insight to the work that they have been doing till now. ‘Last year, teams had struggled with the late arrival of equipment. We had received our order two days before BOSM – too short a time frame to familiarize ourselves with the equipment. ‘, he recounts. This time though, meticulous planning, and co-ordination with the Central Purchasing Unit ensured that such an issue wouldn’t come up. The equipment reached three weeks before BOSM, giving teams plenty of time to practice with it. ‘My experience as cricket captain has also helped me immensely’, Joshi comments, as he talks about the planning of fund allocation for each sport. Having been a captain, he has been able to understand exactly how important each team’s needs are, which aids the Council in these plans.

Other troubling issues similarly needed rectification. Last year, several teams such as the volleyball and football teams did not have a place to practice regularly, owing to the renovation of the courts and grounds as part of Project Parivartan. While a sizeable portion of these renovations have been completed, certain areas still remain unfinished. The Sports Council requested the institute to halt the project in the relevant places, so as to allow teams to practice without constraint. After considerable effort, the institute finally relented.

In line with their goal of promoting sports on campus, is the Arsenal Training Camp that is being currently held. ‘We were also in progress of making a contract with NBA as well. However, we decided to go with a football camp, as football is more popular on campus’, Joshi said. Further, organising events such as iBOSM, sports leagues, workshops, etc. are amongst the other things the Council has been planning for. These workshops, namely the yoga and taekwondo ones, see a fairly high attendance from the students. ‘We’ve observed that there is an interest on campus for workshops of this kind. Choosing an appropriate time for these are important, so as to maximize participation,’ Joshi revealed. On the various hostel sporting leagues he says, ‘Several team captains pay close attention to these leagues. There is plenty of talent amongst the BITSian populace, and we aim our efforts at making the best of it.’