Salwan Marathon to use GPS, CCTVs to ensure fair play

The 20th edition of Salwan Marathon will be held in Brar Square area here Nov 2 and the organisers Thursday announced that GPS based chip technology and multiple cameras would be used to track the distance-location covered by each participant in the under-18 boys category to ensure fair play.

The run will also witness participation of over 2,000 visually impaired and intellectually challenged students. They will run 4.5 km with a volunteer escort.

"We were both surprised and pained to find last year that the top 14 finishers in the under-18 boys started the race midway in an attempt to win, but were subsequently disqualified. That the students would cheat in sports has not gone down well amongst the fraternity and in order to ensure fair play, GPS-based chip technology and multiple cameras will be used which will track the entire run," said Samrata Diwan, spokesperson, Salwan Marathon, about last year's edition.

Started in 1995 on a budget of Rs. 2,500 with 300 students, the race this year will be supported by adequate police security and a large number of volunteers from the sports community who wish to send a clear message to start a sports curriculum in schools across India and create promotional avenues for their professional growth too.

The organisers have initiated a process for short-listing 30 physical education instructors across schools in Delhi-NCR to send them for an on-ground training programme to London in March 2015. They would learn the science of sports to be taught at various age-groups so that talent can be tapped at the grassroots level.