E-Paper
College of Engineering Pune’s annual regatta fest goes virtual
The students who tend to run from pillar to post on the event day every year had a different schedule in the last 15 days as they were busy compiling the audio and video clips and the event premiered on July 11
It turned out to be a different journey for the students of the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) as the annual regatta fest went virtual this year. The students who tend to run from pillar to post on the event day every year had a different schedule in the last 15 days as they were busy compiling the audio and video clips and the event premiered on July 11.
“Initially, we had planned to conduct the regatta offline, like every other year. We were ready for the event, but just a week before, restrictions were imposed and all our plans seemed to go in vain. We didn’t want to break the legacy of 92 years and hence decided to go online. Since regatta had never been virtual before, we had no idea how to go about implementing it,” said Siddhi Walunj, secretary, regatta.
“I think the biggest challenge we faced was figuring out how to incorporate the shows, all of which we had never imagined being conducted online, without losing the essence of the festival. Realising that regatta will be incomplete without any boats in the water, we chose to carry out the passes of boats representing each show. Recording these and arranging the inaugural ceremony in the presence of dignitaries, following the Covid-19 restrictions, took around 14-15 days. All the efforts put into compiling the clips by our team finally bore fruit,” added Walnuj.
The inaugural ceremony was hosted on July 2 with a limited number of guests and participants.
Members from the event organising team said, “The unforeseen Covid-19 situation made it seem nearly impossible to host the regatta at first. While nothing replaces the feeling of practising together for the fest, social distancing measures sort of deprived the students of their beloved boat club. But it was indeed an acid test of the team’s managerial skills as well as the flexibility in decision-making. With the support of our well-wishers, we were able to pull off the regatta with massive success amid the crisis”.
The event saw the presence of the chief executive officer (CEO) of Amphenol India and the chief guest of the fest, Robert John, president of Boat Club, Dr BB Ahuja, the vice-president of Boat Club, Dr NA Hedao, regatta in-charge Dr VK Haribhakta and other faculty members.
Regatta’s title sponsor this year was ‘Amphenol Interconnect’ with the Associate Sponsor ‘Bhate & Raje Construction Co Pvt Ltd.’
Undoubtedly, Regatta is a visual treat for its audience, but there are some other perks to it too.
It is a wonderful opportunity for the students to get introduced to water sports like rowing, kayaking, and canoeing and pursue them at a professional level.
