As many as 12,036 children will be receiving training in 41 different sports disciplines, as part of free Summer Sports Coaching Camps by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), which were inaugurated during a programme held at Swarna Bharathi Indoor Stadium here on Sunday. About 486 expert coaches will be training the students from May 25 at various stadiums across the city.

Government Whip and Visakhapatnam West legislator P.G.V.R. Naidu has inaugurated the camp along with GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg here on Sunday.

Commending the GVMC for coming up with the sports camp, Mr. P.G.V.R. Naidu said that students participating in these camps should improve their sporting abilities.

He called upon students to adopt sports as a means of achieving physical fitness and mental well-being alongside academics. He noted that the summer sports coaching camps could not be conducted over the past two years due to unavoidable reasons and appreciated the GVMC Commissioner for responsibly organising the camps this year.

Mr. Naidu also appealed to parents not to restrict children only to academics but to encourage them in sports according to their interests, stating that these summer camps would greatly benefit them.

Later, Ketan Garg said the camps were organised extensively with the objective of identifying and encouraging hidden sports talent among students from an early age. He stated that GVMC had been working continuously for the last 15 days to organise the camps successfully. The camps, which will commence on May 25, will continue for ten days till June 6 from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. daily. However, there will be no sessions on May 29 and May 31 due to government holidays, he said.

“Participating students would be provided daily with one egg, a biscuit packet, protein snack (Pappu Chekki), and drinking water. In addition, every participant would receive a T-shirt and a participation certificate,”, he said.

He also said that necessary sports equipment and first-aid medical facilities have also been arranged at every training centre to ensure that participants do not face any inconvenience. The Commissioner also urged students to make the best use of this opportunity, develop discipline and sportsmanship.

Subsequently, the Commissioner instructed Additional Commissioner P. Nallanayya diet should be supplied to students on time, adequate drinking water, sanitation, and healthcare facilities should be provided, and registration should be made compulsory for newly joining participants at the camp venues. He also instructed all Zonal Commissioners to carry out daily monitoring at the zonal level until the completion of the camps to ensure smooth and flawless conduct.

A sportsmanship pledge was administered to all participants. Subsequently, the MLA, Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, and other officials played badminton as part of the opening ceremony.