BOSM 2013: Bigger, Better, Baxter
A peek into what the fest holds in store
After 2012 survived a no BOSM scare, comes 2013, the year when the fest has bounced back in full flame and is set to be bigger and better than its past incarnations. The attitude being followed for the 28th edition of BOSM seems to be centered a keyword- ‘new’, with Gym G getting a newer swankier look, teams toiling under new hired coaches and quite a few new sports being introduced. We even have an official mascot with a snazzy name – Baxter, the Desert Eagle – to serve as a cheerleader as well as a face for the fest. As put by the Sports Secretary himself, “Everything seems to be on track.”
What’s new?
The pre-fest affair comprised the two-day Junoon (as compared to the one day fest last year) – a sports fest for the differently-abled. Also, pre-BOSM weekend will consist of matches between the faculty and the students. In addition, there will be a marathon to boost the involvement of the BITSian populace. With the availability of Ram Bhawan for accommodation, the participation has seen a 30 percent rise. Taekwondo has been introduced as a new sport and unlike BOSM ’12, athletics events will also be conducted this year. An android app called ‘BOSM’ has been developed with the intent of assisting outstation participants; it’ll deal with the myriad matters associated with BOSM – maps, events schedules, sponsors et al.
The Venues
It’s been dug up, mud filled, stormed by dust and even flooded by sewage water. But Gym G has bloomed thr ough these adversities, or rather because of them, and emanates a festive feel in its new avatar. The overhauled synthetic basketball court will be unveiled along with the inauguration of BOSM. Apart from basketball, Gym G will host tennis and volleyball. The remaining space can be occupied by a hockey field, but this seems unlikely as of now. Football, athletics and hockey will probably be scattered in Birla Public School, Birla Shishu Vihar and Birla High School. The rest of the sporting events will be held in SAC.
The Sponsors
While BOSM was a 2 lakh fest in terms of sponsorship in 2008, it has transformed into an INR 30 lakh fest in five years. The fest has grown over this period to gigantic proportions in terms of participation and events, which has ultimately led to some cheer from the sponsorship front. This time around, the Department of Sponsorship and Marketing—BOSM has managed to acquire some big names - Panasonic, Channel V, foreseegame.com and DS Group among others. For those not busy in any particular hunt for medals, there are a diverse set of events, from Street Football to Muggle Quidditch, being organized by the Department of Informalz, Jhankar and CrAC. Add to this the plenty of refreshment opportunities available for the people — stalls of Pizza Hut, Subway, your local gola and more, and one is assured of a gala week ahead. One nagging apprehension, however, that every BITSian would have is whether the rain Gods will have mercy on this year’s fest. Indeed, if we add the current weather to Murphy’s Law, it doesn’t really spell good news. However, CoSSAca has equipped themselves with some contingency plans this time around– drains along some of the courts, a swapper to dry them out, even sloping tents on the stalls. All elements considered, this BOSM sure seems to be hitting the right note. All that remains is for BITSians to show up in large numbers, take snaps with Baxter and oh, cheer the teams, of course. Here’s looking forward to a successful BOSM. Grit. Guts. Glory. And may the odds be ever in your favour!
Conquest 2013, India’s biggest startup challenge: today
Conquest is an enigma to most BITSians on campus. The shiny website and big banners are there at the start of every academic year, whispers of huge sponsorship and prize money bounce around, and an excellent panel discussion and free entry are promised to students. But then it’s done almost as soon as it began, not to be heard from for the rest of the year. Conquest is India’s biggest startup challenge, we’re told, and its rise over the past few years has been wonderful to watch. But it’s so hugely disconnected from the average BITSian that one can’t help but question the efficacy of their achievements. Conquest began about ten years ago as a business plan competition. Teams sent in their ideas, competing for a launch pad of about 15 lakhs. However, the realisation that this model was very ineffective crept in. The schemes never took off and the organisers decided to change the format of the event. Today, it focuses much more on the product or service being offered. It offers mentorships and judges start- ups on their growth over the following few months. The best ten performers at this stage go on to the finale, where they present their start- up plans to a huge crowd of venture capitalists, investors and others. Here, they are scored on everything done in support of practicality. This strategy works extremely well and has given an impetus to amazing firms that attract tonnes of investors and go viral. The basic theme of Conquest is to spread the spirit of entrepreneurship, which is significantly lacking in India, in comparison to the rest of the world. This idea seems to be gathering speed very quickly. Consider: the number of participating teams has shot up from 400 last year, to 1200. They no longer are ones on the lookout for a few lakhs of seed money. Successful start-ups wanting to make it big, are trying out as well. Conquest, on its part, does not disappoint. Using contacts and the BITSAA network, it gathers both equity- free seed money and myriad benefits (free technology, for example) from sponsors. The event’s rapid rise has been tracked by the media and illustrious publications such as Venture Week and The Economics Times have covered it this year. The organizers, though thrilled, wonder where the event must go in the future. They have numerous ideas, but find it difficult to take it ahead from the pinnacle it is already at. This can be pondered over later though, after the year’s finale in Delhi this Sunday, which promises to be a fantastic success. Till then, the organisers look forward to the exhilarating feeling of meeting corporate bigshots as well as people with valuations of over one million. After building everything from scratch. That sure gives us good reason to go watch the thrilling contest too, doesn’t it? PS: The 2013 edition of Conquest is going on right about now at the FICCI auditorium in New Delhi, so this is more or less a badly timed preview. But hey, now you probably know more about it than you did a few minutes ago, so maybe next year?