Shooting stars at Space Circle

From rock climbing to double-wicket cricket, rifle and pistol shooting to roller-skating'

Space Circle, which catapulted Calcutta into the domain of new-age clubbing through a string of value-added facilities and a concentrated thrust on sports, is set to host its own sports gala. The club's first Spring Sports Carnival slated for February 26 to April 3, would also cover tennis, table tennis, bowling, badminton, pool, chess and swimming.

'Sports will increasingly drive clubs in today's scenario, even more than F&B. It will bring members together, fostering camaraderie like no other vehicle can,' observes M.J. Robertson, CEO of the club.

'We have spaced out competition in the disciplines in such a manner that all the members can take part in all the events if they wish to,' adds Robertson.

The events are organised 'exclusively' for members, their spouses and dependent children.

The club management is hopeful of 'unearthing latent talents' in various disciplines and nurturing promising youngsters identified by the respective coaches. In keeping with its core competence and focus, Space Circle is drawing up plans for structured coaching programmes in various disciplines to hone budding talents and give them avenues for serious training.

A number of fun events like Pagal Pani, exhibition basketball and five-a-side soccer will also be organised on the sidelines of the month-long carnival.

Space, which had earlier hosted the state rifle shooting championship at its range, and has been home to the popular inter-corporate cricket tournament for three years, hopes to carry forward the sports initiative in the form of an inter-corporate multi-discipline sports carnival.

'The indoor corporate cricket tournament has been an eye-opener, with the response exceeding our expectations. From a mere 20-odd teams at the inaugural meet, the event now attracts participation from 60-odd outfits and the interest level is growing everyday,' says the CEO.

It has given the club ' the only property of its kind in town to have so many different sporting options under one roof ' the confidence to go ahead with the multi-discipline corporate event. 'We are mostly indoors, barring tennis and rock-climbing and hence, not dependent on the vagaries of the weather,' says Robertson, who is planning the corporate carnival in summer.

While there are Merchants' Cup meets in isolated disciplines like football, cricket and badminton, the inter-corporate multi-event sports competition, if it comes off, will be a first in Calcutta.

Across VIP Road, at the Circle Club (the first rendezvous of this kind from the same stable), sports is again the lifeblood. 'Circle has run its summer sports carnival extremely successfully over the past five years, and we have introduced the mini-winter carnival from this year on demand from the members,' says Robertson.

Circle members take their sport seriously, indeed. While there is fine camaraderie among the participants, the competitive edge either on the badminton and squash courts or at the TT table is as sharp as can be.