| BITS Open Sports Meet (BOSM) | |
| Location: | Pilani, India |
| Dates: | September |
| Genre: | Sports Festival |
| Attendance: | 150 colleges |
| Organized: | BITS Pilani |
| Website: | http://www.bitsbosm.org/ |
BITS Open Sports Meet (BOSM) is the annual sports festival of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani campus.[1] [2] This sports meet, usually held around mid-September is a prominent showcase of sporting talents from around the country and abroad too.
The largest student managed Sports fests of the country, BOSM is aimed to provide a platform to colleges from all over India to exhibit their true potential, promoting healthy competition.
BOSM was started back in 1986 when it was a one-day event with the organization done by the institute itself. After a few years, it was set up as a student-run non-profit organization. It is now a four-day festival encompassing everything about sports and witnessing a footfall of over 10,000 students. It is also the only college festival in the country to have an official mascot, Baxter. Several notable personalities have graced the opening ceremony of BOSM, some of whom are : Dinesh Mongia, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore,[3] Saba Karim, Akhil Kumar and Krishna Poonia among others.
The sharp-edges and angular features of the logo exude solidity and stability of the brand that is BOSM-30 years as one of India's biggest student-managed sports fest and going stronger than ever. In the middle is depicted BITS Pilani's most iconic emblem-the BITS Pilani clock tower. The clock tower stands tall, representing strength and stability. The time on the clock is 20:14, a play on the current edition of BOSM. The red and yellow hued flames represent fiery aggression, passion for the sport and the fervor to win. The final element of the design is the ribbon with the BOSM motto: Grit-the dedication in meticulous preparation, Guts-the courage and determination to give it one's everything for Glory-the deserving reward to a flawless performance.
With the tagline 'Rise to Glory,' BOSM ignites the spirit of every sports enthusiast, providing an unparalleled adrenaline rush that propels them to the pinnacle of excellence. The major sports events held during the fest are:
| Sport | Boys | Girls | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | • | • | |
| Badminton | • | • | |
| Basketball | • | • | |
| Bodybuilding | • | - | |
| Carrom | • | • | |
| Chess | • | • | |
| Cricket | • | - | |
| Football | • | - | |
| Frisbee | |||
| Hockey | • | - | |
| Volleyball | • | • | |
| Squash | • | • | |
| Swimming | • | • | |
| Table Tennis | • | • | |
| Tennis | • | • | |
| Taekwondo | • | - | |
| Power lifting | • | - |
BOSM not only brings enthralling sporting events but also comes up with exciting events like prof shows, exhibitions, talks, and many more. Some of them are:
BOSM is mainly organized by the Committee of Students for Sports Activities(CoSSAc), a body of eight members which is the fest committee under Sports Union, BITS Pilani. It consists of four delegates from Sports Union viz. the Sports Secretary, three Joint Sports Secretaries who are responsible for coordinating with all stakeholders of BOSM and responsible for all finances, and heads from the following four departments:
who are responsible for works specified for their departments. In addition to the departments listed above, several clubs and minor departments and campus press are involved in the running of the fest. These include Press Clubs, Dept. of Informalz, Firewallz, Photography Club, Creative Activities Club, Gaming Club, Department of Sports Publicity and Design (DSPD) among others.
Among these, the DSPD is responsible for covering all the sporting events that occur during BOSM, and keep the public updated about the result of past matches and the schedule of the upcoming ones through social media handles. They also use these handles to generate publicity for the fest as well.
BOSM is the only sports festival of the country to have a Social Connect, in the hope of striking a chord of humanity. The major events are:
BOSM every year witnesses top brands from various sectors being associated with it. A few notable partners include Buddh International Circuit(BIC), Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Nokia, John Players, Nestle, Pizza Hut, Vodafone, Panasonic and the likes. The media sector has seen several names like The Week, Channel V, NDTV etc.