IBSA National Sports Meet for Blinds

by Haryananewswire (Balbir)

CHANDIGARH, DEC 24
The 17th IBSA National Sports Meet for the Blind is scheduled to be held in Panchkula and will be inaugurated by the Haryana Government on December 26 at Devi Lal Sports Complex. The four-day Blind Sports Meet is the largest sports event of the visually challenged in India organized once in every two years. Over 550 participants from 14 states across the country have registered for the Meet which will have track and field athletics, powerlifting and chess. The meet is being jointly organized by Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) and the Blind Relief Association (BRA), Delhi with the Institution for the Blind, Chandigarh and local sports bodies and individuals in Panchkula/Chandigarh/Mohali lending their cooperation.
Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA), a national level sports body with 140 institutions and organizations from 23 states affiliated to it as members, is recognized by Indian Olympic Association and affiliated to International Blind Sports Federation, the apex blind-sports body, and to Paralymic Committee of India.
All the competitions will be conducted in accordance with international norms for blind sports as stipulated by International Blind Sports Federation. To ensure highest level of professionalism and fair conduct of competitions, services of professional and experienced judges and other technical officials from Athletics Federation of India, Powerlifting Federation of India and IBSA, as well as, from Haryana and Chandigarh are being taken.
The meet will witness the budding and some of the finest totally blind and low vision athletes from across the country, several of them with international exposure and medal winners, vying for honours. The Meet will be divided into Intermediate (14 to 17 yr) and Open (not below 14 yr) age sections, with separate competitions for male and female athletes under the three sight classifications, namely, B-1 (totally blind), B-2 and B-3 (low vision/partially blind) athletes. The track events include 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 and 5000m running and relay races. Field events will have long jump, shot put, javelin and discus throws. The two indoor events are powerlifting and chess. While athletics and chess events will take place from 26 to 29 December in the Tau Devilal Sports Complex, Sector-3, Panchkula, the powerlifting competition will be held in the Weightlifting Coaching Centre, Sector-42 in Chandigarh.
The Panchkula Meet is especially significant, as performance in it will form the basis for shortlisting the athletes to be considered to take part in the 4th World Championships and Games for the Blind to be held in Antalya, Turkey in April 2011 and in IBSA World Youth and Students Games to be held in Colorado Springs, USA in July 2011.
Elaborate arrangements for boarding, lodging and transportation of the participants coming from different corners of the country are being made by the organizers to ensure comfortable stay in Panchkula. Apart from the available stay facilities like sports hostel, badminton stadium and the cricket stadium available in Tau Devilal Sports Complex, the organizers have booked other nearby facilities like Sood Bhawan in Sector-10, and hotels to accommodate the large number of participants and officials coming from outside. In the evening there will be cultural programmes for entertainment. Several individuals and organizations are helping the organizers in making the event a great success.