Organization of Sports Competitions and Training Programs

What is the Organization of Sports Competitions and Training Programs scheme?

Organization of Sports Competitions and Training Programs is the working programme of the Department of Sports, Government of Uttarakhand, run through the Directorate of Sports at the Maharana Pratap Sports College campus, Thano Road, Raipur, Dehradun. The scheme has two halves that feed each other: coaching camps that teach the sport, and a competition ladder that runs from Gram Panchayat and Development Block level up through District level to State level.

The purpose stated by the department is to broaden the base of sport in the state; what its sports policy calls khel ka vistrit aadhaar, sport for all, and to find grassroots talent in rural and remote areas that would otherwise never be scouted. The policy document specifically names Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas, rural youth clubs and sports clubs as the units to be mobilised for talent identification, and commits to giving priority to sports development in the state's remote and under-served regions and to encouraging women's participation.

Key features

• Coaching camps run every financial year from April to February.
• Fees are heavily subsidised, from Rs 70 a year for team sports in non-municipal areas.
• Players who represent Uttarakhand in the state team train free, paying only a token registration fee.
• Competitions are held at Gram Panchayat, Development Block, District and State level, with cash prizes for winners.
• District and state special training camps pay a diet allowance, accommodation, travel fare and a sports kit.
• Coaching is done by departmental coaches and by coaches appointed on contract.

Who is eligible for the sports camps and competitions?

You can take part if:

• You are a resident of Uttarakhand: representing a Gram Panchayat, block, district or the state requires it.
• You are below 16 years for a departmental training camp, or below 21 years for a local training camp.
• You are a continuing trainee who has crossed the age ceiling, in which case you are still admitted up to 25 years on the normal registration or annual fee instead of the higher amateur rate.
• You are an amateur player wanting to use departmental facilities. A separate monthly membership rate applies.
• You have been selected in a district or state team, which puts you in the special training camps.

You cannot take part / are not eligible if:

• You are not a resident of Uttarakhand and want to represent the state or a district in the competition ladder.
• You are above the notified age ceilings and not a continuing trainee. The subsidised camp rates are age-linked.
• You are looking for a direct cash benefit: this is a training and competition scheme, not a welfare payment. Cash prizes go only to players who win in the competitions.

Amateur players are treated differently from trainees. The department states plainly that no sports equipment or material is provided by the department to amateur players using its facilities on the monthly membership rate.

What does the training cost?

Departmental training camps, for players below 16 years, per player per year:

Local training camps, for players below 21 years, per player per year:

Amateur players using departmental facilities pay a monthly membership. Under the local camp schedule this is Rs 1,000 a month in municipal-corporation areas and Rs 800 elsewhere for badminton, squash, tennis, other indoor sports and other outdoor sports, and Rs 2,000 or Rs 1,500 a month for swimming. Playing hours are fixed: 5:00 am to 6:30 am and 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm in summer, and 5:00 am to 6:30 am and 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm in winter.

State-team players pay nothing for training. In departmental camps they pay a Rs 10 registration fee and in local camps a Rs 50 registration fee, and that is all.

What do the special training camps pay?

District-level and state-level special training camps carry a defined entitlement per player and per coach:

• Diet allowance: Rs 250 per player or coach per day.
• Accommodation: Rs 100 per player or coach per day.
• Travel: to-and-fro fare on actuals, by ordinary bus or sleeper-class rail.
• Sports kit: Rs 1,000 per player or coach; tracksuit, warm-up shoes, socks and a playing kit appropriate to the sport.
• Equipment for the camp: Rs 2,000.
• Opening and closing ceremony: Rs 1,500.
• Incidental expenses: Rs 100 per player, official or judge for the full duration of the competition.
• Miscellaneous: Rs 1,000.
• Honorarium for a coach engaged from outside the department: Rs 3,000.
• Maximum players per camp: 25. A district camp has 1 coach, a state camp 2.

Teams travelling up to 200 km in hill areas get the diet allowance for one day before and one day after the competition. Teams travelling more than 200 km in hill areas get the diet allowance for the actual travel period.

How to apply for a training camp or competition

Enrolment is offline. There is no online application portal for camp enrolment.

1. Find your nearest departmental facility — the district sports office, a departmental stadium, a multipurpose hall, an indoor hall or a swimming pool listed on sports.uk.gov.in.
2. Ask the district sports officer or the coach in charge which camps are running for your sport in the current financial year, since camps run from April to February.
3. Fill the enrolment form for that sport and submit it with your age proof, residence proof and photographs.
4. Pay the annual training fee or the monthly amateur fee for your sport and category, and keep the receipt. It is your proof of enrolment for the year.
5. Attend the camp regularly. Continuous attendance is what keeps you on the normal fee rate after you cross the age ceiling, up to 25 years.
6. Enter the competition ladder through your school, Gram Panchayat, block or district as the department's annual sports calendar announces events. Winners move up to the next level and are considered for district and state special training camps.

How do I check the calendar and my selection status?

1. Open sports.uk.gov.in and go to the annual sports calendar, the department publishes a calendar for each year, with 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 calendars available.
2. Check with your district sports officer for the block and district event dates for your sport, since the lower rungs of the ladder are organised locally.
3. Watch the notice board at your training centre for camp selection lists and team announcements.
4. Write to directorspots@gmail.com or contact the Directorate of Sports at the Maharana Pratap Sports College campus, Thano Road, Raipur, Dehradun for anything the district office cannot resolve.

Common reasons a player is turned away, and the fixes

• Age proof missing or inconsistent. The camp and the competition age group both turn on age, and a school certificate that disagrees with Aadhaar is the most frequent problem. Sort out one consistent date of birth first.
• Residence not proved, you cannot represent a Gram Panchayat, block, district or the state without it.
• Over the age ceiling and not a continuing trainee, the 25-year concession applies only to a player who has been training continuously.
• Fee not paid for the current financial year, the camp year runs April to February and enrolment does not roll over automatically.
• Applying too late in the year: camps close in February, so joining in January gives you a few weeks.
• Expecting equipment as an amateur member, the department states it supplies no equipment or material to amateur players on the monthly rate.

What else does the Department of Sports run alongside this?

The department's other programmes connect to this one, and a player who enters through a training camp usually meets them next:

• Sports hostels (kreeda chhatravas) for residential training.
• Scholarships for sportspersons.
• Sports kits for players selected for national-level tournaments.
• Cash prizes for medal winners at national and international level, and incentives for their coaches.
• Player accident insurance.
• Reimbursement to sports associations and grants for organising events.
• State sports awards including the Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Khel Ratna, Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Dronacharya and Himalaya Ratna awards, and a Lifetime Achievement award.

The department has also stated that government and semi-government employees selected in district, state or national teams should be granted special leave for the competition or training period, which removes a practical barrier that working players in Uttarakhand had faced.

Where do I get help?

• Directorate of Sports, Uttarakhand: Maharana Pratap Sports College campus, Thano Road, Raipur, Dehradun.
• Email: directorspots@gmail.com
• Uttarakhand CM Helpline: 1905.
• District Sports Officer in your district, for camp enrolment, fees and competition entries.

No verified dedicated telephone helpline for this scheme is published on the department's website, so the email address and the district sports office are the reliable routes.