Lalith Gunawardena
[Assistant Director (Rtd.) Dept of National Archives, Secretary- National Sports Council (NSC)]

“Each country has its own way of making an impact on the international stage. They resort to various methods to showcase their capabilities. We find there is an element of fighting associated with the sport. Sri Lanka has a National Flag, a National Anthem, a National Dress, a National Bird and a National Flower. All these have been initiated with a National Identity. However, Sri Lanka, with a rich heritage, have chosen a sport originating in the US. In fact, the pioneer of Volleyball is William G. Mogan of the US, and the game was first played in the State of Massachusetts. It was introduced to Sri Lanka by Robert Walter Cammack of the US, through the Colombo YMCA. There was a book launch to commemorate 100 years of Volleyball in Sri Lanka. The book clearly states that Volleyball was inaugurated in the US, while also stating that Volleyball is the National Sport of Sri Lanka. This is a clear indication that we cannot accept Volleyball as our National Sport.
As a country which has a proud history and a rich heritage, we could have easily picked a sport more akin to the Sri Lankan culture as its National sport. This also sends a clear message to the world that Sri Lanka does not have a National Sport in keeping with its cultural values. It was due to the personal agenda of a former high ranking official of the Sports Ministry that Volleyball was named National Sport of Sri Lanka in 1990/91. This official believed that Volleyball would make giant strides throughout the country.
But he never understood the technical side of the game. As a result, we are now ranked very low among South Asian countries. The former Sports Minister appointed a 3-member Committee to look into the matter and select a National Sport. The Committee comprised of Prof Vinnie Vitharana as Chairman along with the late Gunapala Senadhira and Pandula Endagama. They never studied the ‘modus operandi’ of how other countries chose their national sport. Instead, they went in with a couple of proposals, with their main concern being that, the National Sport should be a traditional game. Among the criteria they focused on was that: It should be a team sport. Its equipment should be locally manufactured. It should be popular islandwide. It should be acceptable to all religions of the country.
Finally, it should be performance-oriented. This Committee also requested the views of the general public on this issue. After due diligence and consideration of the views expressed, Elle and Volleyball were the two most favoured sports. The Committee also decided that Volleyball did not have any ingredients to be chosen the National Sport. However, eventually, they decided to select Volleyball as the National Sport. I am very disappointed and surprised with the decision of these 3 intellectuals, in selecting Volleyball as the National Sport of Sri Lanka. They should have studied Sri Lanka’s history before deciding on the national sport. A study of our history shows that sports such as ‘Un Keliya’ and ‘Pora Pol’ were associated with society. In addition, ‘Angampora’, a sport similar to Sumo, was a popular sport during the same era. These sports were also helpful to the people of that time to win many battles against foreign forces. We see a large number of people coming to witness Sumo in Japan. There are exhibition events as well, which is very important to attract the international community. In fact, Angampora is closely followed in the Southern region and is very popular among foreign tourists.
The Committee has, however, failed to publish a Gazette notification on this matter. There is nothing to indicate in the 1973 Sports Act No.25, that could name a particular sport as the National Sport. It was under these circumstances that then Minister of Sports named Volleyball as the National Sport of this country. There were several politicians in the committee appointed to design the National Flag. The Secretary of this committee was Prof Senarath Paranavithana and the committee worked in collaboration with the Cultural Ministry. Similarly, the ‘National Sport’ Committee too should have worked in consultation with the Cultural Ministry. The legal procedure should have been to present the decision to the Cabinet and the Parliament for their approval. Also, the Volleyball Federation has failed to make an impact among the general public when organising events to mark 100 years of Volleyball in Sri Lanka. They have also forgotten the veteran National Volleyball players for the celebrations.

Susil Ranasinghe
(Author – ‘100 Years of Sri Lanka Volleyball’)

Public perceptions and views were sought, after which, the Committee decided primarily, to focus on Volleyball and Elle. Consequent to a broad analysis of these two sports, the Committee decided to pick Volleyball as the National Sport, and submitted their recommendations to the Minister of Sports on July 6, 1990. Sports Ministry Secretary, Col. C.V. Kudaligama obtained Ministerial approval to make Volleyball our National Sport, However, there has been no gazette notification published according to the Sports Act, nor anything in writing from the Sport Ministry to the National Volleyball Federation confirming the aforesaid fact. However, since May 1991, Volleyball is conducted as the National Sport of Sri Lanka. Recently, the SLVF celebrated 100 years of Volleyball in Sri Lanka. However, it is regrettable that the Ministry of Sports did not implement any programmes to launch the Volleyball centenary celebrations.

Mervyn Fernandopulle
[President- Sri Lanka Volleyball Veterans' Association (SLVVA)]

As a former National Volleyball player, I am personally proud of these achievements. Compared with some of the other sports, I believe, Volleyball has spread across the country and is fast turning out to be one of the top sports in Sri Lanka. I cannot see a school, club or city not associated with Volleyball.

I see many youth associated with the sport throughout the country, while some play the game as a leisure activity. This is because the game could be played at minimum cost and entertain a large gathering. I would say that Volleyball has changed as time passed, and has made vast strides in the recent past. The sport was at its peak even in the 1950’s and 1960’s. This was the era when Sri Lanka’s W.L. Siriwardena was selected Best Dasher. This is also a sport which involves a lot of technique and scientific work with the players. I think there should be more government-sector backing for this National Sport. But sadly, I cannot see it happening at the moment. We could easily rise to a top position in the Asian region, if there is proper backing from the Sports Ministry or, from the government directly. We should also implement a National Plan to move forward. I have heard that Sri Lanka is the only nation which had named Volleyball as its National Sport. We also completed 100 years in 2016.

I cannot judge the way we celebrated the occasion. I cannot comment on this issue. This is because I am not involved anymore in Volleyball administration. But I must say that, as a former National player and as a former Vice-President of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation (SLVF), I did not receive an invitation to participate in the main celebrations held at the National Youth Services Council, Maharagama, under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena. In fact, none of the other officer bearers of the SLVVA receive an invitation to participate in this event. But I think the SLVF did reasonably well in celebrating this occasion according to their budget.

So, I will not comment on this issue. We have quite a number of former National players and those who really love the sport, associated with the SLVVA, and will continue to do so. We also hope to celebrate this occasion in the future. In fact, completing 100 years in a sport is a very rare occasion for the country. I think we could have organised these celebrations in a more fruitful manner, had we prepared for the event at least 5 years ago. It is not too late, and we could still have more events to mark this occasion even next year.

Dayasiri Jayasekera
(Minister of Sports)

As the Minister of Sports, I am really pleased that our National Sport, Volleyball, has completed 100 years in Sri Lanka. Like in some of the other top nations, this sport has turned out to be a very popular sport in Sri Lanka as well. However, despite the immense popularity, I am disappointed that, we have not reached international standards in Volleyball. Our only noteworthy performance was the Gold Medal which the Women’s team won at the 1991 South Asian Games held in Colombo.

Thereafter, we have been able to win only a couple of Silver and Bronze Medals in the international arena. We have not been able to win a major title at Asian level in the recent past. The main reason for this, I believe, is the lack of international exposure for the players. We are hoping to participate in few more international tournaments in the future.

But I am surprised that Volleyball was chosen the National Sport of Sri Lanka. I think we should have named a sport closer to the traditional values of Sri Lanka, as the National Sport. I still cannot understand under the basis under which Volleyball, introduced by a US national, was made the National Sport of Sri Lanka. My personal view is that, we should have made ‘Angampora’ or ‘Elle’ the National Sport. Volleyball was made a National Sport under the directions of a 3-member Committee headed by Prof Vinnie Vitharana. However, what I feel is that this decision has been taken without Cabinet approval or any Gazette notification.

My opinion is that, this should be completely changed. I will be notifying the Cabinet in the future and will take steps to make ‘Elle’ or ‘Angampora’ the National Sport in the future. I am also a little bit confused whether the celebrations held to mark 100 years of Volleyball in Sri Lanka, by the SLVF, were really directed at the people of this country.