Thirteen — lucky for St. Joseph’s
St Joseph’s College Colombo has now become a synonymous name in the sport of swimming at schools level and to clinch the prestigious All Island Schools Swimming title for 13 years is no doubt a great achievement and for the Darley Road boys it has become just simple as the duck taking to the waters which they have done with expertise. The expertise they gained right through out the 13 years is no doubt due to the dedication put in by their coach Ruwan Manawadu the former national coach of Sri Lanka who has been a tower of strength to the boy’s along with their teacher in charge Ms Malka Jayasinghe.
Coach Ruwan has been guiding the youngsters for the last ten years along with his assistants to maintain the champions which they have been able keep up the standard with immense success. Looking back at how the foundation was laid for the Josephians to emerge schools swimming champions for thirteen consecutive years, they say it was because of the wisdom and the belief that their late Rector, the Very Rev. Fr. Peter A. Pillai had mentioned that some day even though they do not have the divine gift of walking on the waters they would one day swim to glory and that has been achieved and realized today.
So the belief of the Josephians is that that such dominance should continue unbroken. The swimmers during this period have displayed their talents not only by winning the title for 13 years but showed their prowess in all age groups, pentathlon and novices championships and relay events. The lads have been born with flippers quipped some of the old boys and it’s fantastic to see them dominate the pool for 13 long years and thus creating a record in the history swimming at school level.
Rev.Fr. Milan Bernard the Prefect of Games said “Who would not be proud to closely associate with a champion team. It gives me a sense of elation and I feel every second that I have spent with the team is fully worthwhile. From the years gone by they have maintained the winning streak for the others to follow, all this is due to the commitment and dedication of our boys.” Of course all these achievements have been due effort put in by the coach his assistants and the teacher in charge who all has the tremendous support and backing of Rev. Fr. Rector Travis Gabriel.
The dedication of the boys the coach and his assistants, the teacher in charge can be seen by the way they come for practice as early as 5.00 in the mornings and then attend school later in the day, it had not been an easy task. The Rector mentioned that the parents too played a vital role and they too need to be applauded for the dedication they showed by bringing the children early in the morning for practice which has bored fruit.
“I am proud to be the teacher in charge of the Josephian swimming team a happy Ms Malka Jayasinghe. I am indeed proud to say our swimmers have ruled the pool for 13 consecutive years and I am confident that we will be able to rule the pool for many more years.” Said Rev. Fr. Rector Travis Gabriel in conclusion.
They also produced the best among the rest
The Josephian skipper receives the main award