Improving the sports environment on the campus was the main vision of Sports Secretary (boys) Harsh Bokadia. Looking back at his manifesto, as of August 2024, out of the many main points in his manifesto, 11/21 have been completed, 9/21 have not been completed, and 1/21 was partially completed. Here’s the link to the manifesto. Let’s delve into his manifesto and analyze it.
- Improve Team Scheduling and Coaches Planning (Completed)
During the sports secretary’s tenure, BITS had successfully represented in two tournaments (IIT Indore and InterBITS) which were held in periods of low academic activity. A lot of coaching sessions were planned for the participants before these tournaments to maximize the time and effort of the teams. - Team to GB Workshops (Completed)
According to the sports secretary, more sports workshops for the GB were held in his tenure. An impressive jump from one workshop each sport every semester to seven to eight workshops in sports like Ultimate Frisbee. - Restructuring Sport Senate (Completed)
The proposal for restructuring the sports senate had the main point of streamlining communication between the Sports Teams, SUC, and the GB at the same time. The Sports Secretary created a new division in the SU Management Team specifically for this purpose which also contributed to Arena and other inter-college events. - Intra-Bhawan Tournaments (Not Completed)
This plan required cooperation with the hostel representatives. However, the elections for the representatives were significantly delayed which was the primary reason for these not being conducted. Another reason was that the second semester was also packed with Arena in February and midsems in March. The plan had been inefficient as stated by the Sports Secretary. - Healthy Food Supplements (Completed)
Messes are now offering gym food (like boiled eggs, soya chunks bowl, paneer bowl) in the morning and evening, under gym timings. Other food outlets are offering healthier foods like salads. - Sports Physiotherapist (Not Completed)
The sport secretary has stated that this proposal was not included in the previous year’s budget. This was brought up in this academic year’s budget but is yet to be completed. He also remarked that it will be completed by October. - Collaboration with other colleges (Completed)
According to the sports secretary, inter-college relations have increased multifold both as visiting teams and home teams. - Screening of Major Sports Events (Completed)
The sports secretary stated that while this was done, it is to be noted that this was carried out by the student body RAF. - Recognition of Achievements (Not Completed)
During his tenure, the sports secretary has worked to bring a sports achievement award (which could include a scholarship) but this work was delayed and couldn’t be completed in his tenure. He mentioned that he planned to award the players based on their individual achievements, even in team-based sports. - Sport Calendar (Not Completed)
The sports secretary has stated that a calendar with a schedule for most of the events was made, as the sports senate didn’t receive dates for some events. This calendar was also followed haphazardly as the shift of Launchpad ‘24 dates to February disrupted the schedule – as stated by the sports secretary. - Interdepartmental Games (Not Completed)
The interdepartmental games were not realized due to a lack of funds and time (during the second semester) despite having taken approval from AUGSD.
12. - Proposals for Arena
- Release of Dates at least 100 days before the event (Not Completed) – Official Arena ‘24 logo revealed in December i.e. 60 days prior to the event. Hence this claim is marked as not completed.
- Publicity & Connections with other Colleges (Completed) – The sports secretary said in brief that DePP and the Sports Senate collaborated to carry out the publicity and that the publicity team has done a great job at coverage.
- Pre-allotment of Equipment & Efficient Distribution (Completed) – The sports secretary stated that all required equipment was ordered at least a week prior and stored properly.
- Cash Prizes Distribution during Arena (Completed)
- Release of Dates at least 100 days before the event (Not Completed) – Official Arena ‘24 logo revealed in December i.e. 60 days prior to the event. Hence this claim is marked as not completed.
- Construction of New Bleachers (Not Completed)
The sports secretary has remarked that this promise was not and can not be realized as the administrative body opposed the proposal in favor of preserving the beauty of the campus. - Procurement of Kabaddi Mats (Completed)
The sports secretary mentioned that the mats were ordered at the right time i.e. a month before Arena. - Lighting in Cricket Grounds & Nets in Courts (Partially Completed)
The quality of nets in courts has been improved. And according to the sports secretary, new lights and more nets were scheduled to arrive in October. - Procurement of Skating Rink & All-sized Skates (Partially Completed)
The sports secretary was able to acquire skates of almost all sizes but did not fulfill the promise to procure a skating rink. - Development of Sand Pit for Long & High Jump (Not Completed)
Although it wasn’t completed in the tenure, the sports secretary stated that this was included in the next phase of construction on campus. - Leveling of Hockey Field & OFG (Completed)
The sport secretary was successful in revamping the hockey field and old football ground. He made a note that the hockey field and the old football ground are separated by a height difference, which is bridged by the stairs.
Other Achievements & Setbacks:
- Was able to complete the refunds of the previous year’s InterBITS.
- Was able to align processes in SAC.
- Was not able to avoid a delay at the beginning of the semester during the allocation of inventory.
The following are the closing remarks by the Secretary at the end of his tenure:
It was a good tenure. I went out and did as much as I could, negotiated with as many people as I could. Obviously, I can’t make everyone happy but at least the sports senate has a better kick-off time than it had before. I hope my successor follows me on this path. That’s about it.
Article By: Madhav Ramini, Aryan Anupam
Poster Credits: Apeksha Maheshwari
The Journal Club 
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