The Sports Secretarial Address was held at 8 PM on March 26, 2022. The address was open to all the General Body Members (GBM) and was held at the SAC Amphitheater. It started off with the three candidates—Anant Raj Verma, Ekansh Agarwal, and Sushant Varanasi—introducing themselves. The candidates were then asked to present their pitches for the position of Sports Secretary. 

The session began with Anant, the captain of the football team, describing his participation in the BITS sports circuit. He stated his desire to create a better sports environment for the GBM. His manifesto points included: 

• Replacing the pre-existing iBOSM Tournament with the BITS Premier League (BPL).
• Implementing a new medical response system to handle injuries in a more effective manner and including better medical facilities at GymG and SAC.
• Extending timings for facilities at SAC like the Health Club to allow for more effective use of resources for both team and non-team members.
• Taking measures to increase female participation in sports and their respective tournaments by organizing multiple camps/workshops over the semester along with the promotion of mixed events.
• Using the area in and around SAC for stalls and events during fests.
• Increasing the popularity and participation in newer sports like skating by allowing rotunda to be used at a given time of the day. 
• Improving the quality of the sporting facilities at GymG like the volleyball court and the athletics track by increasing the frequency of its maintenance. 
• Moving the bleachers from behind the tennis court and placing them closer to the football field during fests and tournaments to increase footfall. 

Anant stated that conducting BPL would enhance the on-campus sports culture and encourage people to participate more. However, no dialogue had taken place between him and CoSSACns with regards to the conduction of BPL during the even semester. When asked about how he planned to get BOSM departments working for two fests—BOSM and BPL in the same semester, Anant failed to adequately answer. 

A proposal to conduct short camps for people interested in learning the fundamentals of certain sports was also put forth, but it was considered to be unfeasible by the Union as Anant did not contact the correct stakeholders for the same. Similarly, Anant planned to introduce food stalls in the area around SAC to increase the footfall during fests like BOSM and InterBITS. However, he was not clear about how to implement this point. 

His idea to increase the popularity of sports like skating and skateboarding was considered redundant since it was already being implemented by the current Sports Union. He stated that he had neither talked to the Safety and Medical Advisory Council (SMAC), nor to any other concerned authority about the feasibility of his new medical response system.

In conclusion, the CoSSACns and the Sports Financial Committee (SFC) noted that Anant hadn’t contacted the correct stakeholders for a majority of his manifesto points. The CoSSAc also stated that he talked to the Institute officials more than he talked to the student heads of various bodies, which are primarily responsible for the working of BOSM and other sporting activities. 

The next candidate, Ekansh Agarwal, stated his belief in increasing the efforts made for improving the physical prowess of athletes via sports. His manifesto points included:

• Conduction of official Sports camps in the even semesters before iBOSM is conducted.
• Implementation of a slot-based registration system for sports workshops to better manage large crowds.
• Recorded training programs to be provided for the players to assess their performance.
• Addition of fruit juice, salads, and boiled eggs to the menu at TOTT and ANC as a healthy nutrition option.
• Creation of a Sports’ Union app to manage the working of everyday activities of students participating in sports.
• Making a car service available during practice hours before fests in GymG for immediate medical attention.
• Reopening the swimming pool on-campus with extended timings during mornings and evenings.
• Providing special attention to gym equipment and their maintenance. 

Ekansh mentioned that he wanted to promote a healthy sports culture on campus by conducting official camps, and has talked to the captains of various sports teams about the same. When asked to elaborate, Ekansh mentioned that he wanted to make the process of conducting camps more structured while also improving their publicity. Many of his manifesto points were considered by the Sports Union to be insufficiently backed by data, or simply not feasible due to logistical constraints. 

Ekansh was under severe scrutiny from the CoSSAc for alleged anti-campaigning practices. During the campaigning period, Ekansh inquired about the process for registering a complaint against his fellow candidate for anti-campaigning. Upon being given information about the same, he failed to follow through with his complaint. The CoSSAc stated that Ekansh himself created a hostile environment against the other candidate by ‘putting the anti-campaigning idea in the CoSSAc’s head but not acting on it or providing proof’ , thereby engaging in anti-campaigning against the said candidate. Furthermore, he edited his manifesto after the deadline for submission which was a flagrant violation of campaigning rules.

The next candidate, Sushant Varanasi, started off with his pitch with points about a sports week, better medical facilities, and better sports facilities. His manifesto included:

• The conduction of a sports week on campus, which would include Zumba and cycling events.
• Improving the current medical facilities by introducing physiotherapy and immediate medical assistance.
• Installing more water fountains, lockers, and racks at GymG and SAC.
• Providing better facilities for various sports in terms of equipment and maintenance of their respective practicing grounds.
• Encouraging participation of Meera residents in various sports.

When asked about the feasibility of a sports week, Sushant failed to provide sufficient information about the logistics of conducting the same. ‘The introduction of a sports week would significantly decrease student participation in BPL, as his proposed timings clashed with that of BPL’s’, the Sports’ Council said. The points in his manifesto involved the betterment of sports facilities in and around GymG; and improvement of resources available for the various sports played on campus. However, there was neither any contact nor any validation by the concerned authorities for any of these points. The panel came to the conclusion that all of his points were null and void due to a lack of proof. Furthermore, he edited his manifesto after the deadline for submission which was a flagrant violation of campaigning rules.

The stage was then open to the GBM for questioning, following which, the CoSSAc and the SFC called all the candidates and tested their knowledge pertaining to the Sports’ Union Constitution and the BOSM Charter. The address then concluded, with the elections scheduled for the next day. The results were declared on March 28 and Ekansh Agarwal was appointed as the Sports Secretary.