SGFI targets an age-old problem

CHANDIGARH, MAY 11: The School Games Federation of India SGFI has evolved a solution to the menace of fielding of overage players in th...

CHANDIGARH, MAY 11: The School Games Federation of India SGFI has evolved a solution to the menace of fielding of overage players in the National School Games in different disciplines. In the recently concluded executive meeting of the SGFI, a seven-member screening committee was formed to examine and suggest ways and means to weed out this malpractice.

According to SGFI sources, besides giving the concrete proposals, the committee would also decide the number of disciplines to be adopted or dropped and the age groups in the calendar of the National School Games. At present the federation is organising competitions in three age groups 8211; under-14, under-17 and under-19. It has been generally observed that manipulations of date of births of the students by the states is in the age group of under-17. Keeping this point in mind, the committee may suggest scrapping of this age group. Further, students upto the eighth class would be eligible to compete in under-14 category while the rest would take part in theunder-19 section.

N H Rao Navodya, Satpal Delhi, B Gabriel Kerala, Ravinder Talwar Chandigarh, C L Negi SGFI president and P S Chhabra secretary are the members of the screening committee.

It was also pointed out in the meeting that a number of tournaments were not conducted in 1998-99. It was felt that the number of disciplines should also be reduced and stress should be on the main disciplines. The competitions in athletics boys and girls in u-14, u-17, u-19, lawn tennis boys and girls, u-14, u-17, u-19, table tennis boys and girls, u-14, u-17, u-19, badminton boys and girls u-14, u-17, u-19, football girls u-19, kho-kho boys and girls, u-14, u-17, basketball boys and girls, u-14, kabaddi boys and girls u-14 and archery boys and girls, u-19. The 1998-99 football meets for boys under-17 and under-19 will be conducted in the last week of May this year. Similarly, competitions for boys and girls under-19 will be conducted from May 24 to 27 at Mysore.

Meanwhile, huge arrearshave piled up before the federation. Thirty six affiliated states and Union Territories and the Sports Authority of India owe approximately Rs 20 lakh to the federation. The total recoveries relate to affiliation fee, registrations fee, kit-money and other recoveries. The SGFI constitution has already made it obligatory for the states to make payments of their dues within the first six months of each year failing which the states can be debarred from participation in the competitions. However, some representatives explained that they had already cleared their dues. They were asked to produce the receipts of the payments.

According to the account sheet ending March 31, 1998, Assam tops the defaulters list with an arrear of Rs 1,82,500. Andhra Pradesh owes Rs 1,45,100.

The following are the defaulters:

Arunachal Pradesh Rs 1,34,600, Assam 1,82,500, Andhra Pradesh 1,45,100, Bihar 1,34,000, Bengal 1,27,500, Chandigarh 1,10,000, Daman and Diu 20,000, Delhi 54,500, Goa 47,500, Gujarat40,000, Haryana 50,000, Himachal Pradesh 95,000, Jammu and Kashmir 32,500, Karnataka 20,000, KVS 25,000, Kerala 75,000, Lakhswadeep 22,000, Manipur 27,000, Mizoram 20,000, Madhya Pradesh 55,000, Meghalaya 59,500, Maharashtra 27,000, Nagaland 1.02,000, Navodya 20,000, Orissa 75,000, Punjab 65,000, Port Blair 80,000, Sikkim 1,19,000, Tamil Nadu 69,500, Tripura 65,000, Uttar Pradesh 1,60,000, SAI Patiala 10,000, SAI Delhi 47,000, SAI Calcutta 30,000, SAI Gumla 10,000 and SAI Tripura 10,000.

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Meanwhile, the general council of the federation will meet at the National Stadium in New Delhi on May 28 at 11 a.m. The chalking out of the calendar for 1999-2000 is one of the items on the agenda.