With BOSM approaching quickly, the BOSM English Press sat down with the members of the Sports Financial Committee (SFC)—Suhani Singh, Pranav Chandra and Raghav Leekha—to gain insight into their work. 

Raghav explained that the SFC presided over the financial and constitutional matters of the Sports Union. With respect to BOSM, they were tasked with budgeting for clubs, departments, and the fest along with vendor negotiations. Pranav elaborated that during BOSM, their focus mainly lay in optimising the maximum possible allocation of funds while moving forward with the fest. Post the fest, the committee’s duties included the upholding of constitutional rights and managing electoral matters for the appointments of the Sports Secretary, Joint Sports Secretaries (JSS), and the Hostel Sports Representatives (HSR). 

Raghav remarked that one improvement from the previous edition of BOSM had been the vendor negotiations. Each negotiation had been eight to ten per cent better than the previous year, which allowed the SFC to manage the finances better. Pranav added that they had been able to add more sports-focused events this time, such as cubing and bodybuilding events, as well as spring for bigger artists for the professional show and N2O. He also mentioned that the Sports Council had held a pre-BOSM treasure hunt, marathon, and cycling event. They also hoped to have a more interesting inauguration ceremony this time.

Speaking about the state of the BOSM ledger, Pranav said that they had incurred a major loss from the professional show last year, but managed to keep a tight hold on the finances, which kept the overall ledger to a minimal negative amount. He added that the SFC, in collaboration with the Sports Council and the CoSSAc, had held the National College Ultimate Championship (NCUC), a national-level Ultimate Frisbee tournament. It saw about twelve colleges participate and helped them bring the fest ledger close to zero. 

Pranav stated that one of the hardest problems they faced this year was to keep events running with a tighter budget, as they had gone ahead with a slightly larger professional show and a big name for N2O. Other than that, he hoped that it would not rain much this year. 

Raghav said that their tenure as primary signatories at the SFC began with the appointment of the new Sports Council. Their relationship with the council so far had been pleasant, and the organisation of the BITS Premier League and the NCUC had gone off without a hitch. He added that the HSR elections this year had also gone pretty well. Pranav remarked that they looked forward to their juniors taking up the mantle in the coming months. 

Talking about the changes implemented during their tenure, Raghav explained that the SFC had restructured the guidelines for the elections of HSRs to avoid violations and ensure better codes of conduct. He added that they were currently reviewing the Sports Union Constitution. He also mentioned that they had digitised the amendment process by incorporating e-memorandums, to make it more inclusive for the GBM to contribute to the upkeep of the constitution. In relation to BOSM, they had kept an open pitch for many events so that no one got preferential treatment over a certain aspect.

 Pranav mentioned that the SFC obtained a sponsorship of five lakh rupees from the director in collaboration with the Sports Council and that they had worked more closely with the administration this year. He said that the administration had also been more cooperative and helped in managing the fest. Raghav elaborated on this, stating that Prof. Navin Singh helped them organise a meeting with the CoSSAc and the director himself to present their outlooks and constraints of the fest. This helped them rectify issues such as the high cost of the AV Lab, EMU, maintenance, and sports coach fees. 

Pranav said that working with the CoSSAc had been a pleasure. He applauded the CoSSAcns for their work for the fest throughout the years and said that they were highly responsive, which helped them work better with each other. On a parting note, Pranav and Raghav encouraged the GBM to participate in all the events held, to enjoy the food stalls, and to hope that it would not rain.