President Kalam to inaugurate Sri Sathya Sai International Centre for Sports

As a part of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning ( Deemed University), Sri Sathya Sai Baba, its revered Chancellor, would graciously gift the students with a sports complex that meets Olympic standards. The complex can boast of one amongst the nation's largest indoor sports arena, constructed in a record time of just 150 days.

In the Divine presence of Sri Sathya Saibaba, the sprawling sports centre, spread over 4.8 acres, will be inaugurated on Wednesday, 22 November, 2006 by His Excellency Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, President of India at Vidhyagiri Complex of the University at Prashanti Nilayam, Puttaparti in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Immediately after the inaugural ceremony, Dr. Kalam, as the Chief Guest will deliver Key Note address at the 25 th Convocation Ceremony of the Sri Sathya Sai University.

During the course of two days:

* The test matches in Volleyball ( India v/s. Sri Lanka), Basketball (India v/s. Indonesia), Badminton (India v/s. Indonesia), are scheduled to be played.

* Athletes from Greece and Switzerland will perform the Gymnastics.

* Harlem Globetrotters, Basketball wizardry will play the Basketball match v/s. other Basketball nationals from USA.

The participation of about 200 members from the fraternity of sports consisting of players, coaches, team managers, dignitaries, officials from sports associations and federations, and eminent sports veterans, all from within India and abroad is expected during this mega event.

It is well known that Sri Sathya Sai University is unique for its value-based education, the model of which is adopted by many educators around the world, and where students are taught to make excellence a way of life. Adventure, Sports and Spirituality are a part of formal education. State-of-the-Art infrastructure and World-class facilities-both in and outside classrooms-add up to provide holistic education.

The Sri Sathya Sai University has some of the finest academic and sports facilities like an Outdoor Sports Stadium, Indoor Gymnasium, Music College, a Planetarium (Space Theatre) and now an Olympic standard Indoor Sports Stadium.

The newly constructed Sri Sathya Sai International Centre for Sports will enable students to nurture their talents to compete eventually at; global levels and the centre will be a stepping stone to sport at its highest levels.

The Sports Centre adds another dimension to the existing cricket grounds (turf pitch).It has a spacious 58 mtrs. X 98 mtrs. multi-sport hall, with elliptical galleries on all sides. The complex will have an octagonal display centre with a diameter of 60 feet. This facility offers six disciplines viz. Badminton, Basketball, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Squash and Volley Ball (Ref. Annexure for details)

The complex also offers a 400 mtrs. - 8 lanes Running Track, two Tennis Courts, Centre for Yoga and a Hall for Aerobics.

The Stadium's hall can accommodate 4000 spectators. The complex has six entrances. The floor addresses Safety, Performance, Durability, Aesthetics and Functional needs. In addition, it also has important sports characteristics of shock absorption, energy return, friction co-efficient which enhance the ease of movement, reduce foot and ankle impact for players. It is built from 100% recyclable products; it also addresses good acoustic performance. The Sports Complex has been aesthetically-designed with columns and beams with adequate lighting and ventilation system suitable to the sports. It comes with international-class facilities, administration offices and residential accommodation.

The lighting design achieves luminance levels for each of the games as required by international competitions. Ambience sporty interiors have been aesthetically designed to uplift both players and viewers. All sports equipments match up to accredited international standards.

The sport surface is approved by international accreditation agencies like the ITF (Tennis), IBF (Badminton), FIVB (Volleyball), FIBA (Basketball), ITTF (Table Tennis), IHF (Handball) etc. The surface complies with world-wide sports flooring standard i.e. NFP90-203, OIN18-032/2.

If India is to compete at the global level, we need to produce world-class sportsmen. It means world-class training facilities. Having integrated spiritual pursuits and formal education, Sri Sathya Sai University has for 25 years defined excellence in academics and sports, together. The 'Sai curriculum' has been adopted by the universities and educational institutions, from kindergarten to post-graduate levels, as the panacea to the turmoil in the world today.