Beating the odds of a natural calamity
The winning Sirimavo Bandaranaike girls with their teacher
In an all girls final, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya prevailed over Hillwood College Kandy in the final of the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP) conducted by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka via the zoom technology over the weekend.
Speaking on the subject of ‘Engaging in sport by practicing Olympic Values teach the athletes to overcome barriers of Life’ put forward by Sirimavo Bandaranaike as against the point of view put forward by Hillwood Schools’ — ‘Engaging in Sport by practicing Olympic Values build a foundation to a future life’ were the two subjects that the two contestants had to prove beyond any reasonable doubt to clinch the coveted title. However, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya girls were more focused on their given topic.
The winning team comprised Rosara Dayaratne, Detuni Perera, Ruvinya Weerakoon, Laseni Coralage while the teacher-in-charge of achievement was Indira Ratnayake.
Initially 20 top schools around the island showcased their speaking skills. They were Royal College, Colombo 7, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya, Colombo 7, Dharmaraja College, Kandy, Methodist College, Colombo 3, Chundikuli Girl’s College, Jaffna, Gateway College, Dehiwala, Trinity College, Kandy, Good Shepherd Convent, Kandy, Musaeus College, Colombo 7, Hillwood College, Kandy, Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo 8, Vincent Girls High School, Batticaloa, Girl’s High School, Kandy, Gateway College, Colombo, St. John’s College, Jaffna, Anuradhapura Central College, Bishop’s College, Colombo, Mahamaya Girl’s College, Kandy, Kingswood College, Kandy and Pinnawela Central College, Rambukkana.
The eight teams that entered the second round were – Royal College, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya, Dharmaraja College, Chundikuli Girl’s College, Good Shepherd Convent, Hillwood College, Devi Balika Vidyalaya and Musaeus College.
In the super eight round the debate line up read as Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya vs Musaeus College, Dharmaraja Kandy vs Devi Balika, Chundikuli Girl’s College vs Hillwood College and Royal College vs Good Shepherd Convent. The specialty of this round was that those who sailed to the next round were essentially according to points obtained by each team.
As a result Hillwood who collected most points in that round went straight to the final while the other sides – Good Shepherd Convent, Kandy, Chundikuli Girl’s College, Jaffna and Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya fought for honours to reach the final.
In the first semi-final the debate was between Chundikuli Girl’s College speaking on the subject of ‘Value based sport is able to provide a bridge to achieve Unity in Diversity’. Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya showcased their skills while speaking on the subject of ‘Value based sport offers a unique way to a morally developed society’.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya won the first semi-final then took on Good Shepherd Convent on
Value based sports, does not offer material goods but excellent individuals with values and Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya spoke on the subject of Value based sport breeds a future generation to make positive changes. The Colombo 7 girls obtained top marks in both semi-finals and clinched the berth in the final against the lasses from Kandy.
Chundikuli Girl’s College Jaffna and Good Shepherd Convent also from Kandy featured in the consolation final in which Chundikuli Girl’s College Jaffna won to take the third place.
Speaking on the programme its effort coordinator Hansika Marasinghe said: “It’s been two difficult months for the NOCSL. The OVEP Debater resumed its course after three years against a challenging background where a global pandemic impedes us from coming together.”
The Judges team comprised Harshani Perera, Lakshika Madhushani, Sameera Wijeyagunaratne, Shrinath Wijetunga, Dr. Vipula Wanigasekara, Rear Admiral Dr. Shemal Fernando, Moditha Sendanayake, Jeewana Gamage, Kapila Jeewantha, Buddhi Pathiraja, Dr. Rohantha Athukorala, Ramya Sivakumar and Shiranaaz Kaney.
Among the dignitaries who logged in and aired their opinion on the project were — Secretary-General SNOC Chris Chan, Brian Lewis, the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committee (CANOC) and IOC Gender Equality Review Project Working Group Member, Former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremasinghe, HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud – President Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) and also OCA Education Committee Chairman and Sports Minister of Saudi Arabia and Dr. Mi Ryoung Chung of the Florida International University.