Inter-college fitness and trek competitions: how to organise

The safest way to start an inter-college competition is a multi-week fitness challenge that students do on their own time, with a board that compares colleges. Group treks and live events can come later, once permissions, leaders and a safety plan are in place.

Formats that work for colleges

The first three suit colleges in different cities, because students take part wherever they are. The rest need shared logistics.

Compare colleges fairly

• Rank by average per participating student, not total, so a large college does not win by size alone.
• Add a participation-rate board: the share of students who joined. This rewards getting more people moving.
• Keep individual numbers private and publish college boards only.
• Set one counting rule for everyone and write it down. Disputes spoil competitions faster than losses do.

Treqz Crew is coming soon and is planned to offer college crews, inter-college boards, a group trek planner and fest challenges. See the Crew page for what is planned; until it is available, a shared sheet can run any of these formats.

Permissions and paperwork

1. Written approval from your college authority for any event, using whatever procedure your institution requires.
2. For a joint event, approval from every college involved, and a named staff member from each.
3. For a trek, check what permits the trail needs. Our trek permits guide explains how this works.
4. Parental consent for students under 18, for both the trip and any data collected.
5. Venue and local authority permission for anything on public roads. Ask your local police or municipal office what applies in your city; do not assume.

Data and privacy for students

India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 treats anyone under 18 as a child. Law-firm commentary says it requires a parent's or guardian's verifiable consent before processing a child's data, and restricts tracking and behavioural monitoring of children, though rules provide some exemptions. In practice, for a college challenge:

• Collect only participation (steps, minutes or days), never weight, health details or live location.
• Tell students what you collect and why, in plain language.
• Get parental consent for students under 18 and let anyone withdraw.
• Check your plan with your college's administration or legal contact.

Organising a group trek safely

A club trek is the high point of many college years, and the part that needs most care. The basics:

• Choose an easy trek. Start with the easy treks guide; a short, popular trail is better than an ambitious one.
• Use an experienced leader or registered operator, and ask what first-aid kit, communication and rescue plan they carry.
• Match the group's fitness. Plan for the slowest person, not the fastest.
• Set a turn-back time and a head-count rule before the walk starts.
• Know the altitude. A widely used guideline summarised in clinical sources is not to raise your sleeping altitude by more than about 500 m a night above roughly 2,500 m. See our guides on altitude sickness and organising a group trek.
• Plan for heat on lower trails. Heat exhaustion can bring headache, dizziness, nausea and heavy sweating; the NHS advises moving to a cool place, drinking fluids and cooling the skin, and treats heatstroke (confusion, no sweating, very high temperature) as an emergency.

Fest challenge ideas

1. Fest step week: every department's average steps on a board outside the canteen.
2. Stairs vs lifts: a floor-climbing challenge for hostels.
3. Sunrise walk: a group walk on campus with a short talk on a nearby trek.
4. Mountain in a month: colleges pool climbing until it matches a real trek's height.
5. Photo trail: a campus or city walking route with photo checkpoints.
6. Alumni vs students: a friendly step match, with averages so numbers stay fair.

A simple timeline

• 6 weeks out: approvals, format, rules.
• 4 weeks out: sign-ups, consent forms, board set-up.
• Challenge weeks: weekly updates, one cheerful post per college.
• After: results, thanks, feedback, and a plan for the next one.

Running the day itself

• Name one safety lead per college, and give every lead the same short brief: route, timing, first-aid point and emergency contacts.
• Brief participants at the start, in two minutes: the route, the turn-back time and where the water is.
• Check in at the end. Count everyone back, and ask about injuries or illness the next day.
• Share results the same day, with a photo of every team. Ask for consent before posting images of students.

Keep the competition friendly. A small trophy that moves between colleges each year gives people a reason to come back.

General information, not medical or legal advice. Follow your institution's rules for events and trips, and speak to a doctor if a student has a health condition.

Sources

• Law.asia: Children's data protection under the DPDP Act
• CyberPeace: Prohibition of behavioural tracking and targeted advertising for children under the DPDP Act
• American Family Physician: Acute altitude illness, updated Wilderness Medical Society guidelines
• NHS: Heat exhaustion and heatstroke

Quick questions