Out of Turn Employment to Sportspersons in State Services

What is out-of-turn employment for sportspersons in Uttarakhand?

Out of Turn Employment to Sportspersons in State Services is a scheme of the Department of Sports, Government of Uttarakhand, operated through the Sports Directorate. The scheme gives medal-winning sportspersons of Uttarakhand who have represented the state in international and national games a direct government job, outside the ordinary recruitment queue. Readers often search for it as the Uttarakhand khel kota or sports quota job scheme.

The operative instrument is Government Order No. 728/VI-3/2023-33(7)2014, dated 14 September 2023. Under it, medal winners are appointed on gazetted and non-gazetted posts from Pay Level-3 to Level-10 across various government departments, on supernumerary positions, that is, posts created over and above the sanctioned strength, so that no regular vacancy has to fall vacant first.

The idea behind the scheme is straightforward. An athlete who spends a decade training for the state loses the years that ordinary candidates spend preparing for recruitment examinations. The state answers that with an appointment route that treats a medal as the qualification.

Who is eligible for the sports quota job in Uttarakhand?

You can be considered if:

• You have won a gold, silver or bronze medal at any of these competitions: Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, World Cup, World Championship, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Championship, Commonwealth Championship, SAF Games, or the National Games.
• You are a permanent resident of Uttarakhand.
• You represented the state of Uttarakhand in the National Games in the year and competition for which you are claiming employment.
• Your sport is among the 33 listed disciplines: athletics, archery, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing and kayaking, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, football, golf, handball, hockey, judo, lawn tennis, shooting, rowing, sailing, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, baseball, chess, cricket, kabaddi, karate, kho-kho and mallakhamb.
• You apply within the time window to 2 years from the achievement for seniors, 3 years for juniors.

You are not eligible, or cannot apply, if:

• You are not a permanent resident of Uttarakhand, even if you now live in the state.
• You represented another state in the competition where you won the medal.
• You participated but did not win a medal. Participation alone does not qualify; the scheme is explicitly for medal winners.
• Your discipline is outside the 33 listed sports.
• You are outside the application window: more than 2 years after a senior achievement or 3 years after a junior one, and outside the special 12-month window the 2023 order opened for older medal winners.

Note the two windows carefully. Beyond the standard 2-year and 3-year limits, the September 2023 order made medal winners from 10 years earlier and 5 years earlier eligible to apply within 12 months from the date the order was issued. That one-time catch-up window has since closed on its own terms, so current applicants should work to the 2-year and 3-year rule and confirm the position with the Sports Directorate.

What is the benefit and at what level?

The benefit is a regular state government appointment, not a cash prize.

• Posts range across Pay Matrix Level-3 to Level-10.
• Both gazetted and non-gazetted posts are covered.
• Appointments are made in various government departments, according to the vacancy details those departments report to the Sports Directorate.
• Appointment is to a supernumerary post, so the athlete does not have to wait for a sanctioned vacancy to open.

Cash awards for national and international medals are a separate benefit stream of the Uttarakhand Department of Sports and are not part of this scheme. An athlete may hold both, since one is a prize and this one is employment.

What about the educational qualification?

For employment, athletes must possess the minimum educational qualification required for the post. The scheme then adds two relaxations that matter a great deal in practice:

1. The selection committee may grant exemptions or relaxations on mandatory or preferred qualifications for medal-winning athletes.
2. If a medal winner does not possess the required qualification at the time of appointment, the department allows the athlete up to 4 years to acquire it.

This is why an athlete who has been training rather than studying should still apply. The qualification gap is treated as something to close after joining, not a bar at the gate.

What documents are required?

How to apply for out-of-turn employment as a sportsperson

1. Watch for the advertisement. The Sports Directorate receives vacancy details from the relevant departments and publishes advertisements in newspapers to recruit eligible athletes. Also check sports.uk.gov.in, where departmental government orders and schemes are listed.
2. Confirm your window. Seniors must submit within 2 years of the achievement, juniors within 3 years. Applying outside the window is the most common cause of rejection.
3. Assemble the file, the completed application form, medal-winning certificates, Aadhaar card and permanent residence certificate, plus proof that you represented Uttarakhand in the year claimed.
4. Submit the application to the sports offices, addressed to the Director, Sports Directorate, Department of Sports, Government of Uttarakhand, as specified in the advertisement.
5. Wait for committee scrutiny. The committee reviews applications received through the Director and submits its recommendations within 2 months.
6. Await departmental appointment. The Sports Department forwards the committee's recommendations to the respective departments, which appoint selected medal-winning athletes to supernumerary positions within 4 months.
7. Complete any pending qualification after joining, within the 4-year period the department allows.

How to track your application

1. Note the date of submission and get an acknowledgement from the Sports Directorate office where you filed.
2. Follow up after the 2-month committee stage to confirm whether your name is in the recommendation list.
3. After the recommendation goes to a department, follow up with that department's establishment section, since the appointment order issues from there within 4 months.
4. Keep certified copies of every medal certificate. Reconstructing a decade-old National Games certificate is far harder than storing it.

Why applications get rejected

• Applied after the deadline: beyond 2 years for a senior or 3 years for a junior achievement.
• Represented a different state in the qualifying competition.
• Participation certificate instead of a medal certificate.
• Sport not among the 33 listed disciplines.
• No permanent residence certificate for Uttarakhand.
• Certificate not issued by the recognised federation conducting the listed competition, so the achievement cannot be authenticated.

Most rejections are documentary. Get your medal certificate authenticated by the state association for your sport before the file goes in, not after.

Key dates and orders to remember

• Government Order No. 728/VI-3/2023-33(7)2014, dated 14 September 2023, the current operative order for the scheme.
• 2 years — application window for senior sportspersons after the achievement.
• 3 years, application window for junior sportspersons.
• 2 months; committee recommendation timeline.
• 4 months; departmental appointment timeline after recommendation.
• 4 years; time allowed after appointment to acquire a missing educational qualification.

Help and grievance redressal

• Scheme owner: Directorate of Sports, Department of Sports, Government of Uttarakhand, Dehradun.
• Portal: sports.uk.gov.in, which carries departmental government orders, the annual sports calendar and the list of the state's national and international sportspersons.
• District route: the District Sports Officer of your district is the first point of contact for verifying certificates and confirming whether an advertisement is open.

The Uttarakhand Department of Sports has not published a dedicated helpline number for this scheme, so this guide does not list one. Approach the District Sports Office or the Sports Directorate directly, and do not pay any agent who claims to arrange a sports quota appointment, selection runs entirely on the committee's recommendation.