Keekli Reporter, 1st June, 2017, Shimla
The much awaited annual skating competition was a downer as the managing committee was unprepared for the event and a scene of unprofessional behaviour was seen during the event. The participants were informed to report at 9.00 am where as the event began at almost noon. The event was formally inaugurated and flagged off by the school host Principal Sunita John, who wished the children good luck to all the participants. HS Sports Academy President S Sukhvir Singh, Secretary, Pawan Aggarwal, Organizing Secretary Pankaj Prabhakar and participant team coaches were present to honour the Principal.
The morning began with Under 6 Races for both girls and boys as they participated in different forms, namely quad, inlines and professional category. Participating team were from — Gagan Sports Centre, Khanna, with coaches Randeep and Gagandeep Singh, who came with Bhavik, Kuber Bansal, Saksham, pranay, Gurveer, all participating in 6 to 12 years group. Sanskar International Academy, Rajasthan with Coach Dr Sanjay Suryavanshi whose team comprised of Ravinder Singh, Tanurag Swami, Nilanshu, Akash, Abhishek. Coach Nitin Saini from Ambala team comprised of Arshdeep, Manveer Singh, Shaurya, Harkirat Singh, Saksham all in 12 to 17 years group.
Team Auckland was represented by the Organizing Secretary Pankaj Prabharkar which had maximum number of participation from both Auckland Boys and Girls School.
As the event progressed smoothly and children put in all the stamina and speed in finishing the races, the overzealous parents were seen hovering the running track and the judges table to ensure that their kids names were mentioned correctly. The enthusiasm to cheer their kids saw most of them on the track despite repeated requests from coached and event organizers to step out of the arena.
As the event began late, the children too seemed tired and exhausted after completing the first leg of the races. A one hour break for lunch was extended for almost two hours as the second leg of races began only after 3.00pm which resulted in further delayed the prize distribution. With not much refreshments for the children it was quite disappointing for the children who spent the day on juices and limited snacks.
Vineet Bajaj from Jalandhar and father of Krishna Bajaj who was competing in Under 14 Professional Inline Skating was quite critical in the manner the event had been conducted. He said, “We were asked to reach the venue at 8.30am and there was no sign of any of the organizers. We have had to wait for quite some time for the event to begin. Also their is no arrangement for food and water as we now have to stay for the whole day due to these delays”.
Few parents were unhappy as many host girls were seen skating in the wrong age categories to win unfairly.
During the day Martial Arts events were also held for the participants as Coach Anil Bura from Ambala professional conducted the event. The participants were Vishal, Navjot, Avneesh, Lokesh, Lovneesh, Vinod, Anmol to name a few, all under 14 to 17 years.
But all this did not deter the spirit of the children who were purely present to compete and show their agility and skills. The thrill of holding the medal was the reward they eyed and gave very focused performances.
