Speedstar: A journey from India to Australia

Around 15,000 kids from 6 citiesthe board hung on a wall in our office shouts out the number we have managed to reach out to. For us, it is not just a number but a mean feat to achieve in reality. It has been 16 months and 28 days, since we first thought of putting together a concept like this. With all the Indian Idols and Junior MasterChefs blaring out of the TV screens, we did not know if people were ready for a serious competition like ours. But we undermined the audience; we undermined what a single standalone concept like ours was capable of. It made a father cry joyously seeing his kid cross the finish line, a mother shout at the officials in a stadium packed with more than 5,000 people and fight for her kids 0.001 seconds leap that went unnoticed. It has made a child cross 7 cities in a night so that he could participate and prove his mettle to his friends who wouldnt stop bullying him in school. The second seasons Delhi winner had missed the chance to go to Australia by 0.03 seconds last year, but nothing could stop him. Not even his impaired speech or hearing abilities to set a new record this year.

SPEEDSTAR 1- QUICK SNAPSHOT

The winners of Speedstar Season 1 went on to train in Australia with Sharon Hannan, the ex-coach responsible for the success of Sally Pearson (London Olympics 2012 gold medal winner in 100 m race). Cities Schools Reached Out Students Reached Out Registrations Participation Season 1 Winners U12 G Shabnam Shokeen U12 B U14 G U14 B U16 G U16 B Nilesh Batre Siddhi Hiray P. Siva Anita Das M.S. Arun 12 800 40,000 15,000 10,000 Timing (s) 14.04 13.31 13.01 11.72 12.79 11.14
Speedstar Season 1 winners in Australia Speedstar 1 winners with PT Usha at the Finale

We conceptualized the biggest hunt of the present day with a simple hope to see our kids healthy, running, doing what they best do. Going back to the grass root level, identifying what was really holding back a country of a billion plus population to churn out another Milkha Singh or P.T. Usha, we realised the kids of this generation have been caged up, too tamed to show what they feel, or just BE! The joy of being outdoors, on the field, running, jumping, letting out their pent up energy was unknown to them. It made us understand that ours is a country with confused notions about health and sports. The reluctance to take up sports as a serious career option was one of the setbacks we had to face while conceptualizing and executing Speedstar! The team behind one of the biggest athletics talent hunt in the country:

Susir Kumar Chairman

Prabhu Srinivasan CEO-KOOH Sports

Chirag Patel Director KOOH Sports

P.T.Usha Brand Ambassador

Adille Sumariwalla President AFI

Today publications like Times of India, Pioneer, Mirror, Indian Express and Tribune have patted our backs and joined the wagon. Corporate giants like Times group, HDFC and TCS have lend their support to make this initiative bigger and better. NGOs like Yuva Unstoppable, Magic Bus, Teach for India, Pratham have come forward to help us in our endeavour. We also made sure that at least 30 % of our participants came from underprivileged sections of the society. Our association with Special Olympics Bharat made this one of the few unified athletics events of the country. Thereby reminding us that athletic potential is not restricted to a limited few. 10 cities in 6 weeks, our journey has just started. To say that we have achieved enough will be unfair to the 14,952 kids (from the first 6 cities) who have no other choice but to wait until next year for a second chance or the 20,000+ kids who havent been on the tracks yet (from the remaining 4 cities). The fact that we have surpassed the Speedstar Season 1s numbers with just 6 city heats conducted so far; is a substantial example of how Speedstar managed, in just 2 years to make its mark on so many kids and parents alike! We are humbled and overwhelmed by the response and trust entrusted on us by these kids and their parents. When we first conceptualised this initiative, there were so many issues like money, funds, sponsorships we thought we needed to worry aboutbut now its even more daunting... to carry hopes of thousands of kids and their parentsthis is sure not easy either!

SPEEDSTAR 2- QUICK SNAPSHOT

Some of the print media coverage so far..

Winners from the Speedstar Season 2 City Heats:

Jalandhar Winners

Chandigarh Winners

Delhi Winners

Jaipur Winners

Pune Winners

Lucknow Winners

Speedstar Promotion across mediums:

Promo: zoOm

Promo: Times NOW

Promo: ET NOW

Mumbai Bus branding

Speedstar Facebook page

Banners on Indiatimes.com

Delhi Heats on Times Now

Chandigarh Heats on Times Now

Print ad in Times of India

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