Dialog Schools Development 7s today at Ruwanwella
Amali Nanayakkara, the Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Axiata, handing over the sponsorship to B.A. Abeyratne, the President of SLSRFA, Also pictured are Harsha Samaranayake, the Senior General Manager, Brand and Media, Dialog Axiata om left and Nirodha Wijerama, the General Secretary of SLSRFA, on right
Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) in collaboration with Dialog Axiata, will hold the first-ever Schools Under-14 Development 7s at the Kelani Valley ground in Ruwanwella today. The two-legged competition will then move to Pallekele Rugby ground on March 12.
The Under-14 school teams that have confirmed their participation for the tournament today from the western province are St. Joseph’s College Kollonnawa, Defence Service College Colombo, Kulasingha Maha Vidyalaya, Omalpe Maha Vidyalaya, Jayawardhanapura Maha Vidyalaya. and from the sabaragamuwa regoin Kularathna Central College, Swarna Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya, Bibilegama Maha Vidyalaya, Dorpana Maha Vidyalaya, Wimalasara Vidyalaya, Godawela Vidyalaya, Kiriporuwa Vidyalaya will join. Representing the southern province Siridhamma College, Saralankara College, Udugama National School an Sri Siddhartha Maha Vidyalaya will take part.
“Much of Sri Lanka’s rugby talent is lost due to rural schools not actively playing the game, especially in the 7s format where its physically less demanding than the league format,” B.A. Abeyratne, the President, SLSRFA said.
“The 7s version is all about speed and the rural schools have a tradition of producing international level track and field athletes that have performed exceptionally at the Asian Games and World Championships, hence we want to identify and tap into that talent. A tournament of this magnitude will not be possible of not for the corporate backing of our sponsors Dialog Axiata,” Abeyratne added.
The Dialog Schools Development 7s 2022 will be played in accordance with the safety guidelines administered by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Education. The players will be in a bio secure environment, overseen by their respective schools, with rapid antigen tests to be conducted at regular intervals.
SLSRFA stated that conducting development tourneys are critical to assess the skill level and fitness of rural school teams, to provide the necessary training and development so that the sport will grow in those respective provinces.