Bhubaneswar: With an aim to nurture budding sports talent, the State Government is all set to launch the much awaited high-performance Regional Athletics Academy at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar by the month of July or August this year.
The government has already prepared the blueprint for the establishment of the academy which will have world class facilities to provide coaching, with integrated support services and education to athletes and junior potential athletes of the state, informed sources.
Sports & Youth Services Department Secretary, Vishal Dev said that "Initially, the academy will have professional programmes to train athletes in track and field events especially in 200 metre, 400 metre and 800 metre sprint events. “In the second phase we will try to add 1500 metre event, heptathlon and other jumping events.”
As many as 30 budding athletes will be included in the initial phase of the training programme of the academy, said sources.
The state government is setting up the academy in collaboration with International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has decided to rope in Dimitri Vinayek and Nick Vidoh, two notable foreign coaches of international repute and experience, as main coaching staff to head the academy, added sources.
This apart, the academy will also have a programme director, coaches for various disciplines, physiotherapists, recovery experts and dieticians.
While the Odisha Sports and Youth Services Department will provide funds, infrastructure and support services, the IAAF would provide specialists, training to coaches and the AFI will assist in the management of the academy and selection of its office bearers.
“Looking at the growth of the academy we plan to develop it into a national-level academy and so we have decided to allocate around Rs 5 crore for personnel management and approximately the same amount for operations and maintenance of the academy. Roughly we have estimated that the total budget for the academy would be about Rs 12 to 15 crore," said Dev.
Earlier last year, the State Government had signed an expression of intent (EOI) with the IAAF and the AFI during the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships to set up the academy.