Spree (festival)

Spree is the Annual Sports Festival of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus. It is a three-day long fest usually held in March. Since its inception in 2007, it has grown to become the largest collegiate sports festival in India; attracting many national as well as international participants. The theme has always been "Pure Sport", while the tagline for the upcoming season – Spree'17 is "Summon your Champion". The 2014 edition of the festival received a footfall of more than 40,000 students from 120 colleges all over the country. Spree has always been recognized for the best teams from sportiest colleges across the country, top-notch badminton and tennis courts, a maintained cricket ground and a football ground maintained by Salgaonkar FC.^[1][2][3]

SPREE 2017: Summon Your Champion

SPREE is the biggest Inter-Collegiate Sports and Entertainment festival of India,organised with the sole aim of promoting sports and social interaction amongst colleges from India and abroad. As the dust clears over Spree 2016,a fresh challenge looms. The new sporting season has now kicked off, and the ultimate arena to test the challengers is coming to BITS-Goa, next March 2017. It will be a sight to see who the titan in the world of sports becomes, and who will deserve a place on the mantle of the champions. This SPREE '17, Summon Your Champion.

Events

Formal events

Here is a list of events that will take place the upcoming season at Spree'17:

• Badminton (Boys and Girls)
• Basketball (Boys and Girls)
• Football (Boys and Girls)
• Table Tennis (Boys and Girls)
• Tennis (Boys and Girls)
• Volleyball (Boys and Girls)
• Cricket (Boys)
• Carrom (Mixed)
• Chess (Mixed)
• Kabaddi (Boys)
• Powerlifting (Boys)
• Taekwondo (Boys and Girls)

Informal and offbeat events

Gully Cricket

Futsal

Anti-chess

A variation of Chess where the competitors play to lose

Rapid chess

Carrom Pool

Table tennis shuffle

A mixed doubles table tennis event where the partners are shuffled after every round

Tug-of-War

Ultimate Frisbee

Hogathon

Eat to compete. What better do you want from a free event than unlimited food? Eat till you drop. Exciting prizes to be won.

Human foosball

A human version of the foosball table where one player moves only along a fixed line.

Gaming lounge

A place to "Sit back, Relax, and Score!" Equipped with Xbox 360, Xbox one, Playstation 4, and Kinect Gaming (motion sensing) for boxing, table tennis, running, javelin throw, bowling and much more.

Zorb wrestling

Wear the inflatable large zorb balls around your body and bump into each other as you try to wrestle in the most fun way possible.

Zorb Soccer

Wear the inflatable large zorb balls around your body and play Football – but the rules almost don't apply.

Karaoke

To relax yourself after all day of sweaty sports, enjoy the karaoke night and sing out lyrics from the big screen.

Street Games

Rewind back to your childhood days as you turn to street games and life sized board games like Hopscotch, Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly etc.

Mobile Informals

Random small games to keep you occupied during the fest. Have fun with informal events like “kite flying”, “sports quiz”, “featherball”, “ball shake”, “questions only” etc. and win exciting goodies.

Dice joint

Enjoy card games all night at the Dice Joint in SAC lawns on all nights of the fest.

Kho-Kho

One of the most popular traditional tag games of South Asia, Kho-Kho( Game of Chase) involves teams of twelve players who try to avoid being tagged by members of the opposing team. A game of skill, strength and elegance, it tests your tenacity and stamina to the maximum.

All night events

Sherlock Race

Sherlock Race is a Treasure Hunt Event, in which players search for locations by using clues to find the final treasure.

Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt is an Event that require players to collect a number of objects in a limited period of time. The tagline for Scavenger Hunt is - Beg, Borrow, Steal.

Nights

While matches and fixtures take up the days, during the nights Spree has a host of special cultural events to offer. The three nights consist of performances by renowned celebrities like Papon, Shalmali Kholgade, Benny Dayal, Raghu Dixit, KK, Suhani Shah, Agnee, Ramya Iyer, etc. In the year 2016, Spree witnessed the performance of the sensational singer Papon. Spree also introduces “Informal” Star Performances such as Free – style Football, acrobatics, juggling, laser show, fire performances and many more. Performers from all over have enthralled the audience with their adrenaline pumping. There is a high demand for passes to these events, while the participants generally get complementary pass to these performances.

Previous editions

Season 2016: Where winners tread

After the success of Spree 2015, Spree 2016 had a lot to live up to, and it certainly did not disappoint. While the different teams were battling it out on the courts and arenas of BITS Goa, participants were also enthralled by performances put up by skateboarders Holy Stokes and the famous bollywood singer Papon.

Season 2015: Challenge Your Limits

Last to last season, Spree decided to send the participants a message - that no matter how many times they fall they must rise to the occasion; that impossible is nothing as long as you give it your best shot. And so, the tagline for Spree 2015 was 'Challenge Your Limits. The electrifying experience coupled with captivating events, the vibrant crowd and festive Goan atmosphere have helped Spree 2015 live up to be the sports and social extravaganza everyone had been waiting for. With games like Cricket, Football, Chess, Badminton, Volleyball, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Carrom, Tug of War, , Ultimate Frisbee, Kabaddi, Kho– Kho, Gully Cricket, Futsal, Spree also had performances like the Illusionist, Suhani Shah, followed by the Beat Machine (a beat boxer), Prayatna Jain, and the Fest ended on the rocking notes of Agnee. The addition to this list of events was the “Winner's Dinner” organized for all the finalists to come, relax, and socialize before the final matches on the last day, followed by a concert by Agnee, the band. Spree 2015, termed as the Biggest Inter-Collegiate Sports-and-Entertainment fest, was a success marking a year end to the BITS Pilani-Goa too.^[1][4]

Season 2014: Rise Run Reach

After the success of Spree 2013, Spree 2014 had a lot to live up to, and it certainly did not disappoint. With some of the largest participation a sports fest has seen in India, it kicked off truly internationally with Australian footballer Matthew Foschini as the chief guest, and performances by Flame artists, who enthralled the crowd with their daring antics and fire dances. While the different teams were battling it out on the courts and arenas of BITS Goa, those not interested in watching matches had a lot to keep themselves busy. First of its kind in Goa Throttlerz were on display, which involved stunts men on bikes pushing themselves and their vehicles to the limit with acrobatic and gravity defying stunts with their bikes. Freestyle footballers brought flair into the game, and entertained those interested in the more showmanship side of the most popular game in the world. And with laser and light shows, along with DJ Claudio performing for the students and guests, Spree 2014 was certain to be a memorable one. No fest is complete without a humanitarian cause- Spree 14 played host to NGOs such as CRY, YSF, and PETA this year, making sure that along with entertainment for the masses and adrenaline for the participants, the fest could reach out to all those that need help.^[3]

Season 2013: Play to Inspire

Indulging into social events has always been Spree's forte and tradition. In 2013, that was carried forward through a unique campaign named “Act to inspire”. The campaign was powered by Special Olympics Bharat; the Indian division of Special Olympics, the world's largest organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Their oath "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt" clearly states their endeavors in providing holistic development and training to motivate children with disabilities to join and remain in school. With the organization integration with Spree, it brought forth an inspiration amongst people to contribute towards the whelming aspects of the society. On a different note, Spree took pride to present live performances by artists like Benny Dayal and Shalmali Kholgade. Special Nights thus resulted in spectacular, power packed performances and a mesmerized audience, at Spree 2013 hosted by BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa campus.

Seasons 2006 to 2012:A legacy is born

Spree saw its first edition rise to the occasion in 2006 when a bunch of enthusiasts invited colleges within Goa for a friendly sports meet. No one then knew that in five years, it would become India's largest inter-college sports festival.

References

External links

• Official website