Kilometres For COVID

Sneha, Sreya, Laila and Keerthana are a team of Grade 11 students at TISB who are in the process of planing an inter-House sporting event with a virtual twist – Kilometres for Covid. The team wants to promote physical activity in the time of the pandemic, while at the same time contributing towards Covid-19 relief. The event is similar to the annual TISB sporting event, Swimathon, where students partake in a triathlon of biking, running and, of course, swimming.

The healthcare workers of our city have worked diligently to ensure that we receive the best services, and hence it is truly important that we acknowledge all their support over the last couple of months – Sneha, Grade 11

This time around with Kilometres for Covid, the team has had to cut out the swimming part as most swimming pools are closed due to the pandemic. However, participants who partake in the event can chose from running and cycling and raise funds through sponsors for a good cause while competing. “Lockdown and quarantine have impacted us all both mentally and physically”, says Sneha who, like others, have been disheartened as many fitness centres and sports grounds have closed. Those who are still open has limited access as they maintain social distancing and adhere to guidelines. “This encouraged us to come up with this event, as students will have the opportunity to display their athletic abilities and engage in some friendly competition in a safe and fun way”, Sneha continues. 

All students from Grades 6 to 12 are welcome to participate and earn points for their house, as well as raise money for the cause. This will be done through a mixture of online and offline activities. The participants will be participating on their own in the given duration of time but their distance and time will be tracked. Nobody will be physically monitoring their journey due to the pandemic and social distancing guidelines. “The way in which this will work is by tracking the participants’ total distance that they have either run or cycled through the app Strava”, explains Sneha on behalf of the team.

Once the event is completed, the student will be provided with a sponsor sheet, which they will use to fill in the details of sponsors who will be contacted for donations. Sponsors who will be donating to the cause could either be students within TISB, or friends and family from outside. The funds will be raise towards the ‘healthcare NGO Trinity Care Foundation’, to supply them with much needed PPE kits and equipment for Bangalore’s healthcare workers. 

“If all works well with TISB, we would like to open up the campaign to other schools across the city, which will help us have a greater impact, providing a greater number of healthcare workers with necessary kits and equipment”, says Sneha. So far the team has partnered with Trinity Care Foundation, and started a social media page on Instagram to promote the event in the near future.