NEW DELHI: Are you a chess champion and want to showcase your talent to the entire Delhi? Or have you done exceedingly well in balloon or matka races during your school time and want to relive those fun moments again? Even you think you have crossed the age of playing such games competitively, you may be in for a pleasant surprise, as Delhiites of all ages would get an opportunity to play in such competitions at the assembly constituency level.
To create awareness about Delhi’s first sports university, which is likely to start functioning soon, Delhi government has decided to organize a mega engagement drive to develop a culture of sports and physical activity at the community level.
This extravaganza will not only have contemporary sports such as chess, badminton, table tennis and athletics; it will also test people’s skills in fun sporting activities such as the matka race, the sack race, the balloon race, musical chair, magnetic dart and carrom. Traditional sports such as kabaddi, kho-kho, rope skipping and tug-of-war would also be included.
According to officials, community games would be organized for each assembly constituency separately. The competitions would be held only on the weekends and holidays to ensure maximum participation.
Delhi Sports University has floated a tender to select professional sports event management agencies to plan, promote and execute the events.
The government has prepared two separate lists of 10 main sports and six recreational sports. The agency will have to organize competitions of a maximum of six main and five recreational sports. The sporting events will be held in seven different categories, starting from under 12 years and going up to 60 +years of age.
Some of the sporting events will be held for participants of a particular age group. For example, games such as kho-kho, kabaddi and tug-of-park, which require more physical endurance, would not be available for under 12 years and above 60 years of age.
Each assembly constituency will have 5,000 participants. While the winners and the runners up will get medals, shields and trophies, each player will also get a certification of participation.
“To have a more focused and centered approach for organizing the games, revenue districts have been clubbed together and the assemblies falling in the adjoining revenue districts will be allocated to the selected agencies,” said an official.
As per the tender document, the government intends to spend about Rs 18 crore for competitions in 70 assembly constituencies.