ATHLETICS FEDERATION OF INDIA Annual Calendar for Training & Competitions 2016-17 Indian Athletics Indian Athletics INDEX INDEX Introduction to ACTC 2016-17 1 2016 Rio Olympics : At a glance 4 About the AFI 6 Programmes and Policies 7 AFI's Activities 10 Elite Athletes Training and Competitions 10 Conducting National Championships 11 Technical Officials Education 12 Performance in International Competitions 2015-16 13 Coaches Education Programme 17 Elite Junior Talent Programme 18 Challenges for Indian Athletics 24 Medical Commission 25 Centre of Excellence 25 Accolades 26 ACTC Submission for 2016-17 27 Annexures 43 Indian Athletics ACTC – 2016-17: AN INTRODUCTION PERFORMANCE and winning medals in the Olympic Games require advance planning, preparations and timely support and intervention to ensure that an Olympic medal is won through a durable and diligent process and not by freak luck. After an impressive show in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and 2010 Asian Games for which preparations and funding had commenced at least six years in advance for Indian athletics, there was an inexplicable lull in activities and lack of support from key stakeholders in the interim. However, taking the setback into its strides, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) took a slew of bold steps and initiatives to rejuvenate Indian Athletics from 2013-15. As a result, the Indian Athletics Team performed credibly in all the three age categories – Senior, Juniors and Youth – at prestigious international c,hampionships in the last two-and-half years. The Indian Team bagged 13 Medals at the 2014 Asian Games, one more than their tally in the previous edition, including 1 Games Record in the women's 4x400m relay, won 3 Medals at the 2014 CWG, where the top-5 nations of the Olympic Games also competed in athletics, finished third in the overall medal tally of the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships, garnered 26 Medals at the 2015 Asian Grand Prix Series, surprised everyone by winning a Medal in the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, finished second in the number of medals at the 2015 Asian Youth Championships, produced a couple of sterling performances to reach the finals in the women's 3000m steeplechase and men's shot put in the 2015 IAAF World Championships, all this, hopefully, to build up a promising and positive momentum for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in August. The Indian Athletes have entered the final phase of their training for Rio. In comparison to 2012 Olympic Games, where 14 Indian Athletes had qualified for the Olympics, this time, the Federation is aiming to clinch 35-38 berths (below is the list of athletes who have already qualified at the time this report was compiled). CHALLENGES AND HURDLES To get the right permutation and combination in order to produce excellence is perhaps one of the most critical challenges facing Indian Athletics. Whereas a lot of support and encouragement has been received in the last one year from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), it is necessary to keep in mind that delay in appointment of foreign experts, support staff or delays in commencing training sessions due to absence of proper infrastructure (track installation at NIS Bangalore, which is a key training centre, is expected to be completed anytime now in the year of the Olympics), purchase of chemical anlayser, clearances for competitions and training abroad can prove to be a dampner to all the other shining examples of good support being provided by the key stakeholders. To expect the Indian Athletes to reach dizzy heights in a sport, where more than 2,000 elite athletes from more than 204 countries are likely to participate in 2016 Olympics, making it arguably the most competitive discipline, there is an urgent need to reassess the types of support being provided and the process of clearances being followed currently in this regard. Here are some of the key areas which have been identified as critical for the success of the ACTC planning for 2016-17 and beyond, at the time of the compilation of this report: Indian Athletics FOREIGN EXPOSURE FOR ATHLETES Before any major competition the athletes require some build-up competitions and some strong competition which help them to enhance their performance at the right time as well as to boost up their confidence by competing with better competitors. Although, it's difficult to manage entry for the athletes in a high-level competition at a short notice in the absence of some planned budget, the AFI has already submitted the training-cum-competition for Rio. We need to take decision today itself because the international exposure as well as the training is imperative to achieve outstanding performance in the forthcoming Games. Delay in any decision will jeopardize the entire process. Hiring Foreign Chiro-cum-Masseur-cum-Physio & Female Masseur In modern sports, the role of recovery expert and masseurs is not less than the role of the coach or the talent of the athletes. The decision for appointing a foreign female masseur was taken in a meeting chaired by DG SAI on September 29, 2015, but so far the appointment of female masseur has not been done. But now to bring the athletes in final shape to attain the high level performance it is absolutely necessary that the clearance of the foreign women masseur is given today in the meeting itself. Similarly, a request which was initiated in April, 2015, for appointing a foreign expert chiro-cum-physio-cum-masseur was accepted and forwarded by SAI to the Ministry of Youth Affairs is yet to see the light of the day as of today. It is, hence, requested that both the appointments be considered for implementation immediately by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Food Supplements Food supplements play a key role for the athletes to enhance the recovery process as well to attain a high-level performance. It is unfortunate to say that no athletes in the National Coaching camp received food supplements from October 1, 2015. The procuring procedure for Federation was difficult as per the SAI norms, so it requested that in this meeting itself the decision should be taken for procurement and supply of food supplements. It was mentioned by the AFI President in a meeting chaired by Secretary, MYAS, in March to review the Olympics preparations that each sport has different requirements and comparing the food supplements required for field hockey to athletics, which has 47 different track and field events, is like comparing apples to oranges. Junior Programme to Nurture NexGen Elite Athletes Junior Programme is considered to be the backbone of the entire athletics edifice, no programme is complete if it is not properly backed by the junior program. Therefore, it is imperative that the training process of the juniors should continue to improve upon the level of Junior Athletes which will help them ultimately become champions of tomorrow. If there is no inflow of the athletes into the seniors camp, it will be difficult to improve upon the performance in the next edition of the Games. Indian Athletics In the last few years, no junior programme was funded by the Government; it was the sole efforts of the AFI which organised the junior competition, including the introduction of the IAAF Kids Athletics, the National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meets, the Zonal Junior Competitions and Junior Level Competitions. This year, the AFI is planning to launch the National School Athletics Championship which will help us to identify and nurture more young talent from the grass roots. If we aim to win medal in Olympics it is necessary that apart from the Olympics core probables, the others should be trained right from a young age and appropriate level of attention should be given to ensure their improvement in the practical and technical sense and all necessary support including good amenities at the camp and competition exposure should be given to them. Hence, it is important that the proposal of AFI is taken seriously and urgent sanction is solicited. Basic Incentives for Athletes Daily allowance or pocket allowance for the athletes and officials attending the International competition and training was not disbursed in the year 2015 for the competitions abroad. The athletes and officials participated in Asian Youth Championship, World Youth Championship, Asian Athletics Championship, World Athletics Championship, Asian Grand Prix Series and Asian Indoor Athletics Championship. Decision may be taken at the earliest to disburse these allowances. Upgrading Coaches Courses to Global/IAAF Standard Introducing a standard and uniform coaching manuals and implementing them on the ground to the athletes across the country is one of the important steps being proposed for this year in cohesion with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and SAI. A series of discussions have taken place in this regard between the AFI and SAI,DG, to bring IAAF experts to conduct IAAF Coaches Courses Level I, 2, 3, and 4 to ensure that coaches training in NS NIS Centres and others also acquire the globally certified courses knowledge, which will immensely benefit Indian Athletics in the long run. The AFI has already planned to conduct an IAAF coaches course in the state of Tamil Nadu in April-May, 2016. It is, therefore, requested that along with the creation of a Centre of Excellence for Athletics in Delhi, the IAAF Coaches Courses for Indian coaches across the country should be given due emphasis in this ACTC. Indian Athletics 2016 Rio Olympic Games – An Overview The following events mentioned below are the identified events for 2016 Olympic Games: Athletes Qualified For Olympics On April 4, 2016 Indian Athletics Indian Athletics The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is the apex national body for running and managing track and field events, road and mountain races.