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Engineering is one of the most coveted streams in the world, and as such, one’s life tends to seem like all work and no play. However, Manipal Academy of Higher Education has no dearth of stress-busting facilities for its student populace. And what better way to beat stress than with sports? For all the sports fanatics out there, Manipal is one of those places you shall instantly fall in love with. The authorities of MAHE make many provisions for a variety of sports and multiple grounds for a few of them. Owing to the pandemic, they even enforced stringent social-distancing protocol to ensure a risk-free athletic environment. Here is a comprehensive list of the sports facilities that are available to a MITian.

Marena

Located within 500 metres of the campus, this state-of-the-art sports complex, built at the cost of fifty crores, is one of the largest and best-equipped in the country.

The ground floor houses the gymnasium, with around two hundred pieces of equipment and trainers at hand to help you make the most of them. Marena also has squash, badminton, basketball, and table tennis courts, a Futsal arena, a 200-metre jogging track, a swimming pool, a sauna, cricket nets with bowling machines, and various simulation games under its roof. The fact that, except for the tennis courts, it’s all indoor in one air-conditioned building means that neither the six-month-long monsoon nor the summer heat can hamper your sporting activities. In light of the pandemic, it was closed for public use in 2020 while the implementation of meticulous measures for the optimization of the facilities is underway.  This may also inhibit the use of some of the facilities.

In 2021, the Marena sports complex was converted into a vaccination centre with medical personnel from KMC Manipal administering jabs to the students, faculty and the local population. It is yet to be fully opened for use.

The Table Tennis tables and the jogging track can be used for free, with the only requirement being a combo card or admission orders and non-marking shoes. The other facilities require membership. The membership fee is 2,400 rupees per month for all facilities and 2,000 per month for all facilities except the swimming pool. Making use of just the swimming pool and gymnasium would require 3,000 rupees per year and 1,750 rupees per month respectively. You can also opt to pay 15,000 rupees for a full year’s membership, which will end up being cheaper in the long run. Members also get access to locker rooms and saunas. Marena is open from 5:30 am to noon and from 4 pm to 9:30 pm on all days except Sundays and university holidays.

MIT Grounds

Located right in front of the ninth and tenth block, it is divided into three separate grounds, one each for football, hockey, and cricket. An athletic track borders the cricket ground, with practice nets nestled in the corners. There are also courts for volleyball and throwball, and sports like shot-put and long jump also take place here.

Basketball Courts

With 3 courts inside the campus, MIT spurs on basketball enthusiasts with its facilities. The newly installed courts are located opposite the thirteenth block, complete with bleachers and floodlights, and is open to all.

The court right in front of the Department of Commerce(near the ninth block) building is also open to all, whereas the court inside the 12th block hostel compounds is open only to girls.

Boxing Arena

Located on the first floor of Annapoorna Mess, ‘BAMIT’—the Boxing Arena of Manipal Institute of Technology was recently inducted into the university’s numerous sporting arenas.

End Point

While it is comparatively farther from the campus than the other grounds, End Point more than makes up for the distance with its well-maintained football and cricket grounds. This is where the inter-MU tournaments are held. End Point also has a beautiful park, and the stunning view makes it a good place to go to for a jog or a casual walk.

MIT Swimming Pool

At three hundred rupees for six months, this pool is a bargain you do not want to miss out on. The timings for boys and girls are different, which gives one a maximum of forty-five minutes of pool-time a day. It is well-maintained and quite large but tends to be crowded most of the time.

Recreation Centre

Located next to the MIT ground, the Recreation Centre houses three badminton and two tennis courts. This is also the place to go to for any queries regarding sporting events on campus. If the walk to Marena is too much for you, you can try out the gym opposite the RC. While it cannot compare to Marena, you can save a little money by opting for this instead.  Due to the pandemic situation, revised timings have been released for the operation of the gym and badminton court:-

Morning: 5:30 to 7:30 am

Evening: 4.30 – 8.00 pm

Everyone is only allowed to join in either one of these timings. You can avail of the facilities on Saturdays (except for the 3rd Saturday).

Gyms in Campus

Certain hostel blocks also have their own gyms and training rooms. For instance, the 18th block has a mini-gym within its ramparts. While it doesn’t give full-fledged gymnasiums a run for their money, it is perfect for a rain-curtailed morning or evening. The Department of Physical Education of MIT has set up a well-equipped gym in the D block. Membership here costs 300 rupees and covers the entirety of your four-year stay at MIT. There are, however, no trainers available here. Almost every hostel has its own table tennis room as well.  Block 13 is also equipped with a compact gym that is adequately stocked, while blocks 22 and 21 have minimally equipped gyms.

Manipal Academy of Higher Education has certainly not compromised when it comes to sporting facilities. While there is room for improvement, the authorities are doing their best to make sure that everything is top-notch. At the end of the day, the positives outweigh the negatives by quite a margin. College life may be worrisome and stressful, but MIT’s administration ensures that sports and exercise are things you don’t need to worry about. If you haven’t brought along all the required equipment, you can head down to the Sports House located in the cricket field and use your combo card to borrow what you need.

Amidst the plethora of student-run clubs on campus, Evolve formally emerged as Manipal’s first fitness and nutrition club through their inaugural ceremony held on November 2nd, 2019. Held at Sir M.V Seminar Hall, the event was attended by several health enthusiasts that comprised of professors and administrators from the university.

The event began with a lamp lighting session followed by an address from each of the guests. Nakul Shetty, an Assistant Professor at the Department of ECE, shared his fitness experience with the students and expressed the need for greater care towards health—“Fitness is often overlooked by engineering students. The (fitness) discipline is lacking because of the lifestyle.” He commended the club for creating an opportunity for healthy living among students. Shridhar H, the Director of Physical Education, shared similar views and expressed the importance of fitness. An impartation of the club’s vision soon followed, with a video presentation of the same being shown.

Pranay Pushkar, the President of the Club, started the endeavour with the intention of ‘Making Manipal Fit’. The motive behind the club is to spread awareness and educate students on their physical and mental health, two factors that play a vital role in the overall well-being of an individual. The club aims to eradicate myths that surround weight-loss and body building, while educating students on the healthy intake of food. They also plan on providing monthly diet plans, conducting yoga sessions, coaching students on endurance and resistance training and many other sports activities. The club hopes to begin programs on self-defense and calisthenics from the year 2020. In addition to that, they plan on conducting workshops and organising a seven day fitness competition. The club then proceeded to reveal some of its heads and the portfolios they represent.

“You are what you eat”, said Safia Kousar, referring to the importance of nutrition and the significant impact it has on the human body. Heading Diet and Nutrition, the third year student’s main role is to promote healthy dietary styles and assist students with creating diet plans for themselves, while also helping them reap the benefits of yoga.  Sriram, part of the Recovery and Injury Management is responsible for handing out tips on being safe on and off the field. He believes that along with any workout and diet one follows, it is imperative to perform it in a healthy manner without causing injury to the human body. The Workout and Exercise Head, Vishnu Vinayak, is also the advisory of the committee and hopes to remove the common misconceptions people have regarding diets and exercise, apart from focusing on the general workout aspect of the club.

Evolve, MIT Manipal’s very first all-round fitness club, hopes to be well received by the student populace and successfully transform the student community into one that is fitter, happier and healthier.

Featured Image: Evolve