Kerala School Athletic Meet set to kick off in Thiruvananthapuram on October 22

As many as 1,944 student-athletes from across Kerala are bracing themselves to make the split-second difference between victory and defeat in the Public School Athletics Meet, which begins on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at 12 venues in Thiruvananthapuram city.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will mark the field and monitor the competitions at the curtain raiser event marked with a parade and performances at the Kerala University Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Last-minute preparations are underway at the Central Stadium as workers rush to lay parts of the synthetic flooring ahead of Wednesday’s events as an intensifying northeast monsoon threatens to cause disruptions. | Photo Credit: Nirmal Harindran

Overnight rain threatened to jeopardize sports at the Central Stadium, one of the main stadiums. Organizers had covered a large area with a state-of-the-art canopy. However, water leakage made the approaches to the venue muddy, forcing workers to lay temporary synthetic surfaces in several sections.

Gulf students were hosted

Minister of General Education V. Sivankutty welcomed 35 student athletes from Government curriculum schools in the Gulf. The government has made special arrangements to receive students arriving at railway stations and bus stands throughout the day, officials said.

The government arranged boarding accommodation for student-athletes at 74 schools in the city. He commandeered 142 Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses to transport students from their camps to venues and also organized breakfast, lunch and dinner at the large community kitchen and dining hall set up at Putharikandam Maidan in the East Fort.

The kitchen is equipped to feed up to 2,500 people, including officials and volunteers, three times a day. Fire and Rescue Services department officials inspected the fire and structural safety of the venues and also the dining hall.

theme song

For the first time, the Public School Athletic Meet will feature a theme song. The government had sought participation from school students for the theme song and asked them to adjust the lyrics as well. The jury chose the lyrics written by V. Praful Das, a Plus Two student of Porassery High School, Palakkad. Additionally, the composition of the song was submitted by Sivasankari P. Thankachi, a Class 9 student of Cotton Hill Girls’ High School, Thiruvananthapuram.

YouTube broadcast

The government established a portal (kite.kerala.gov.in) for the public to check the results and progress of athletics events in real time. Student-athletes, teachers and parents can download their certificates of achievement from the website. The public will be able to watch the qualifiers in real time via Kite Victers Youtube channel and E-Vidya Kerala channel.