Mangaluru, Apr 22: Minister for Sports and Youth Empowerment K Abhayachandra Jain on Wednesday released the invitation for the 19th Federation Cup - National Senior Athletics Championship 2015 to be hosted in Mangaluru from April 30 to May 4.
The national championship is being jointly organised by Youth Empowerment and Sports Department, Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Amateur Athletics Association and Dakshina Kannada Athletics Association, in association with Dakshina Kannada district administration.
Briefing mediapersons after releasing the invitation at a press conference at Mangala Stadium, he said that preparations were ongoing earnestly to make the Mangala Stadium ready for the national event. All arrangements are being made for smooth running of all competitive events as well as provision of food and accommodation to the delegates. A total of 18 committees have been formed to oversee every aspect of the national event. There will also be a grand parade and cultural programme for the delegates and audiences, he said, adding that all necessary equipment would be implemented in the stadium by Monday.
He said that more facilities such as floodlights, warm-up fields, NADA testing centre and others would be implemented well before the day of the inaugural ceremony for the convenience of athletes and other delegates. Principal secretary to the state department of youth empowerment and sports will make a visit to the city to inspect the stadium and check the status of overall arrangements prior to the event, he said.
He also informed that a memorandum would be handed over to the Chief Minister during the inaugural function seeking additional funds for the extension of the gallery in the stadium.
Olympian and Padmashree Awardee P T Usha said that hosting national sporting events of this grand scale in Mangaluru would prove beneficial for young athletes from the region as they could avail better facilities for training and practice. It is the first time after 1996 that this city has seen improvement and upgradation of facilities for sports events, which will help talented sportspersons improve their skills, she said.
DKAA president Manjunath Bhandary said that all necessary equipment for the various sporting events at the championship worth Rs 60 lakh had been purchased specially for the event, and most of the equipment had already reached the city.
All the competitive events will be held during daytime to avoid complications while determining the winners among the participating athletes, he said.
Mangaluru City Police Commissioner S Murugan, Mayor Jacintha Vijaya Alfred, MUDA Commissioner Nazeer, MLC Ivan D'Souza, Sadananda Shetty, Shashidhar Hegde, Suresh Ballal and others were present on the occasion.
The inaugural function of the national championship is scheduled to be held on April 30 at 5 p.m. at Mangala Stadium, where Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will officially inaugurate the event.
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