Government announces fresh sports guidelines

Seven sports disciplines- athletics, boxing, hockey (men), shooting, weightlighting, archery - have been identified as priority games, according to the new sports guidelines issued by the government.

The sports disciplines practised in the country have been divided into three categories - A,B and C.

Category 'A' covers 13 disciplines, which are also included in the Olympics, Asian and Commonwealth Games and ''where there is a proven aptitude, but not yet close to international competitive levels''.

Other sports, not covered in A and B categories, have been placed in category ''C''.

The new guidelines have made other far-reaching changes, giving more autonomy to the federations.

Under the revised guidelines, role and responsibility of various agencies involved in promotion of sports have also been clearly demarcated.

The constitution of selection committees for selection of sportspersons for inclusion in the coaching camps or international participation has also been revised.

Such committees will be headed by the president of the concerned sports federation, with the representative of the Indian Olympic Association, the national coach and eminent ex-sportspersons as members. A government observer will, however, be present during the meetings of the selection committee.

The guidelines also provide for executing tripartite agreements between national sports federations, the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Sports Authority of India for ensuring better coordination.

It lays emphasis on developing a system for redressal of grievances of sportspersons. The guidelines also provide for a detailed procedure for recognition of sports federations.

It is hoped that the revised guidelines will help in preparing Indian teams for better performances in various national and international events.

The guidelines have been revised with a view to provide new direction and better support to the sports federations in general and outstanding sportspersons in particular.

The new guidelines, which come into effect from Friday, provides for a ceiling for government assistance to federations for organising national championships at Rs 100,000 for seniors (men and women), Rs 200,000 for juniors (boys and girls) and Rs 300,000 sub-juniors (boys and girls).

This is as compared to the Rs 75,000 ceiling being followed since February 1988. In case the championships are organised separately for men and women, only 50 per cent of the total grant is admissible.

For international tournaments such as the World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships, assistance of Rs 500,000 will be provided for each sport. The ceiling for Asian Games under the old guidelines was Rs 300,000.