Young members perform at the curtain-raiser of the 33rd DLF Saturday Club Inter-Club Sports Carnival 2008 in association with The Telegraph. Picture by Rashbehari Das

With the IPL fever running high, the time is ripe for a sports carnival. The 33rd DLF Saturday Club Inter-Club Sports Carnival 2008 in association with

The Telegraph was officially declared open on April 25 with commissioner of police Gautam Mohan Chakraborty and former Olympian Keshav Dutt as chief guests.

The 10-day sporting extravaganza promises the best of both games and entertainment, with 10 premium clubs of the city taking active part.

“The objective of the carnival is to foster sportsmanship and nurture talent. The levels of enthusiasm and energy are high and our motto is the pursuit of excellence,” says Renu Roy, Saturday Club president.

The 10 participating institutions are Tollygunge Club, RCGC, Calcutta Club, Calcutta Swimming Club, Ordnance Club, Calcutta Punjab Club, CC&FC, Dalhousie Institute and Bengal Rowing Club, with Saturday Club playing host.

The carnival, which is an annual affair on the club calendar, is “multidimensional” this year. “Almost 900 players will fight it out in seven sports disciplines of tennis, badminton, squash, swimming, billiards, bridge and table tennis,” says Renu.

A torch ceremony fired off the event on Friday evening, where members went round the track with a torch in hand, followed by a flag exchange ceremony and a cultural programme. Every club was given 10 minutes to perform, judged by actress June,Tanushree Shankar, Nilanjana Chakraborty and singer Anjum Katyal.

“The attendance on a day-to-day basis is very encouraging. After 32 years, the carnival, I believe, has stood the test of time and the footfall this year is as high as it was in the old days,” says Utpal Singh Roy, sports convenor and chairman of the carnival.

Non-carnival events like basketball and tug of war are also expected to draw big numbers. Besides individual prizes, there will be champion titles like Club with the Best Carnival Spirit andSportsman of the Carnival. “With a carnival this size, the presence of a technical committee is important for fair play. The committee has two members from each club to ensure transparency,” says Utpal.

For some fun with the games, there’s a mid-week dance on April 30 with DJ Vicky spinning his magic and vocalist Shayne Hyrapiet on May 3 on prize distribution day.