SUC Report Cards 2019: Praneeth Setty
Written on December 22nd , 2019 by {"login"=>"jcbitshyd", "email"=>"journal@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"", "last_name"=>""}As of the First Semester 2019-20, the Sports Secretary (Boys) has fulfilled 3/13 of his manifesto points, while 8/13 are in progress, and 2/13 have not been fulfilled yet. You can find his original manifesto here. The writers have taken liberty in some aspects of the report such as grouping or splitting points (from the original manifesto) together if they believe it enhances readability and reduces redundancy in the same. Also some points such as the handling of “General Issues” and promises of “Adaptability and Responsibility” have not been discussed at all in this article, since there’s no way to objectively measure fulfillment of these qualities.
Nutrition for athletes: IN PROGRESS
As mentioned in his manifesto, Praneeth Setty said that he would ensure athletes get healthy balanced diets in both the messes two weeks prior to Arena.
Fitness exercises: NOT FULFILLED
Although the manifesto mentions the need for fitness coaches for players, and promises of coaches for all the teams, there has been no new initiative as such. However, Praneeth said that the current coaches have been inculcating a reasonable amount of fitness training into their daily, rigorous practice.
Trainers: NOT FULFILLED
The sports secretary planned on having extra trainers at the gym, considering the extensive usage of the gym by students and faculty alike. He believed that every individual deserves personal guidance to reach their fitness goals. However, upon talking to higher officials, he decided to stand back and observe for another semester, to see how people were reacting to the present scenario. Upon taking a feedback at the end of the semester, he’ll decide whether an extra trainer is really required, and if so, he’s more than ready to provide all that he can. But otherwise, he says at this point, it’s a mere waste of money.
Bhavan Inventory: FULFILLED
Praneeth promised to ensure that the necessary equipment in the hostel bhavans remains replenished for ease of accessibility. Almost all bhavans are quite content with their common room equipment.
Grounds’ Maintenance: IN PROGRESS
The hockey fields do not have floodlights, and with Arena right around the corner, this affects the team’s practice - especially because it’s winter and the sun sets early. The sports secretary stated that he has been putting constant pressure on the administration about the issue. The administration reportedly pointed out that with the new football field coming up, the present football field would eventually be converted to the hockey field, making it pointless to have permanent light fixtures on the current hockey ground. However, as this may take a lot of time Praneeth promised to have temporary lights set up in the hockey field from Jan 5th, so that there are no obstacles in the way of the teams’ practice.
The cricket nets and grounds need quite a lot of attending to and have not quite reached playable conditions but there seems to be progress. Earlier, the grounds were completely covered in bushes and it was very uneven. From his side, the sports secretary got the grounds well laid out and levelled, and got the bushes cleared out. Coming to the nets, they’ve already called for a quotation and placed a PO so, the nets are being taken care of.
Student Activity Centre Development: IN PROGRESS
Praneeth talked about two improvements that he intended to make to SAC: (i) extending the timing, (ii) improving the maintenance. With respect to the former, Praneeth told us that he had done as much as he could in his power to extend the SAC timings so that the general body can better access the amenities. As of now, they are extending the SAC working hours on an as-needed basis. For instance, there was an Esports tournament in the SUC room, and he got permission to have the SAC open till 1:30 am. Then there was Blitzkrieg for badminton, during which the badminton courts were open till 2 o’clock. So far, from his side, he says, that’s the best he could do. However, they are still putting constant pressure on the administration to push the timings.
Towards the latter, Praneeth explicitly mentioned the bad maintenance conditions of the SAC washrooms in his manifesto- and that he would do everything in his power to ensure that they are cleaned and maintained regularly. Maintenance is now routinely done. He assured that a proper inventory of all the necessary resources is maintained at the SAC.
Gym and badminton court usage: IN PROGRESS
The gym and badminton courts are almost always full, especially during prime time (evenings). To ensure a hassle-free experience for the students, Praneeth came up with a solution. He plans to track this by keeping a headcount of the number of people interested in using the utilities in a given time frame and releasing information about the non-rush hours, so that everyone can make better use of the badminton courts and the gym. They have already tested a working model, but unfortunately, there were a few glitches. The team is currently working on it, and he assures that it will be up by this semester.
Travel reimbursements: IN PROGRESS
Praneeth had promised 100% travel reimbursements to all the teams that go out for tournaments in Hyderabads. The boys basketball team, which participated in Hyderabad’s basketball league spent a sizeable amount on transportation over last semester. Their bill is accounting to about Rs 28,000, and the sports secretary vows that the entire amount will be reimbursed. Given, it’ll take some time, but it will be done.
Blitzkrieg: FULFILLED
To encourage sports culture on campus, the Sports Sec suggested holding Blitzkrieg well before Arena, so that the players know their strengths and weaknesses. It was conducted as per the plan, and many teams even got to play plenty of friendly matches as well. 1
LAN Gaming: IN PROGRESS
Being the sports sec, Praneeth believes that sports should not only be limited to physical ones but also include video games as well. As mentioned in his manifesto, Praneeth intends to help achieve a better LAN gaming culture on campus. All said and done, we must note that the main motive of our admin is to avoid wasting time on such activities. Hence, they give limited access to gaming platforms, that too, on specific days, like public holidays or during the weekends. He also promises to conduct LAN gaming competitions as frequently as possible. Two tournaments were organised this semester, with the SU providing funding for the same.
Complaint management system: FULFILLED
Praneeth said in his manifesto that nobody should suffer from the lack of approachability for anything regarding sports on campus. Therefore, they have released a doc in the month of October, so that people could leave suggestions/complaints anonymously. All the SUC members are inclined towards this idea, and hence, they plan on releasing a similar doc at the end of every month and take up necessary initiatives wherever required.
Undertaking during Arena: IN PROGRESS
The campus experienced some disturbances during last Arena; the security was a massive issue. So, this time the Sports Sec vows to take stricter measures. In fact, they’re going to hire bouncers to assist with security issues.
Improving Sports Culture: In Progress
Praneeth mentioned in his manifesto that he would try to get workshops conducted in the initial days of the semester to motivate people to take up some sport even if not regularly to spread some awareness about them in newcomers. This was done successfully this semester. He claims the workshops were successful, with a good number of enthusiasts turning up for the same. It is yet to be seen if these workshops will be a regular sight in the next semester as well, to ensure more people engage in sports on campus and are given opportunities to be a part of the team.
Apart from workshops, Praneeth wanted to ensure that no one should suffer the consequences of the non-availability of resources or players if the said person chose to pursue a sport that was not conventional on campus. He went on to state that he would help anyone who would approach him for support, players, or even coaches. This led to the start of the Kho-Kho team on campus. The original idea was to try and form a Handball team, but it got changed to Kho-Kho because of the field conditions and some other minor setbacks. These steps indicate significant development in this point, but because the development of culture is a time-taking process, it has been marked as “in progress.”
Written by Akshitha Reddy. Edited by Aditya Gayatri Sastry Kaipa. Design by Atharva Pagar