Last-minute preparations are under way at the Central Stadium as workers rush to relay sections of the synthetic flooring ahead of Wednesday’s events, even as the intensifying north-east monsoon threatens to cause disruptions.
| Photo Credit: Nirmal Harindran
As many as 1,944 student athletes from across Kerala are steeling themselves for making the split-second difference between victory and defeat at the State School Athletic Meet, which begins at 12 venues in Thiruvananthapuram city on Wednesday (October 22, 2025).
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will flag off the field and track competitions at a curtain-raiser event marked by parade and pageantry at the Kerala University Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Last-minute preparations are under way at the Central Stadium as workers rush to relay sections of the synthetic flooring ahead of Wednesday’s events, even as the intensifying north-east monsoon threatens to cause disruptions.
| Photo Credit:
Nirmal Harindran
At the Central stadium, one of the main venues, overnight rains threatened to play spoilsport. The organisers had covered an expansive section with a state-of-the-art canopy. However, water seepage had turned the approaches to the venue muddy, forcing workers to relay the temporary synthetic surfaces at several segments.
Gulf students welcomed
General Education Minister V. Sivankutty welcomed 35 student athletes from State syllabus schools in the Gulf. Officials said the government has made special arrangements to recieve students arriving at railway stations and bus stands through the day.
The government has arranged boarding for the student athletes in 74 schools in the city. It has commandeered 142 Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses to transport the students from their camps to the venues and also arranged breakfast, lunch and dinner at the expansive community kitchen and mess set up at Putharikandam Maidan in East Fort.
The kitchen is equipped to feed as many as 2,500 persons, including officials and volunteers, three times a day. Fire and Rescue Services department officials have inspected fire and structural safety of the venues and also the mess facility.
Theme song
The State School Athletic Meet will have a theme song for the first time. The government had sought entries from school students for the theme song and urged them also to set the lyrics to tune. A jury selected the lyrics authored by V. Praful Das, a Plus Two student of the Porassery Higher Secondary School in Palakkad. It also selected the song’s composition submitted by Sivasankari P. Thankachi, a Class 9 student at the Cotton Hill Girls High School, Thiruvananthapuram.
YouTube broadcast
The government has set up a portal (kite.kerala.gov.in) for the public to check the results and progress of the track and field events in real time. Student athletes, teachers and parents can download certificates of achievement from the website. The public can watch the heats in real time over the its Kite Victers Youtube channel and E-Vidya Kerala channel.
Published – October 21, 2025 12:51 pm IST
