On line with great expectations is the South Asian Federation (SAF) Beach Games to be held in Hambantota in October this year. The following sports are to be featured at the Games: Volleyball, Netball, Soccer, Kabadi, and Basketball, Hand Ball, Swimming, Equestrian events, Triathlon (a special event featuring Swimming, Running and Cycling) and Yachting.Volleyball takes top spot in the competition and the organizers are leaving no stone unturned to make it one of the leading sports at the SAF Beach Games.
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| Dilan Perera (Pic by Rangi Akbar) |
Volleyball is spreading like wild fire amongst school children. The DSI Supersport Schools Volleyball Championships which began on Thursday is ample proof of this. Over 4802 teams and almost 60,000 players had participated in previous championships. This year’s competition has attracted over 5000 teams. The grand final will take place during the last week of July.
The press conference for this event took place at the National Olympic Committee auditorium on Tuesday attended by the Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and the President of the Volleyball Federation of Sri Lanka Dilan Perera.
The tournament is held for children in the age groups of under 14, 16 and 18 years. This year there are teams from the North and East. This has contributed to the increase in the number of teams.
Dilan Perera (MP) Minister of Foreign Employment Promotions and Welfare who has been the President of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation for the last seven years said that he will see that the above events are worked off to precision.
“A whole lot of officials have already been entrusted to see the various functions of the Beach Games. Namal Rajapaksa is now preparing the venues. Right now the technical aspects are being carried out at the Rajapaksa Stadium in Diyagama. Major General Palitha Fernando of the Army and several other officers are busy preparing the stands for spectators. These will be shifted to Hambantota well in advance for the Games. The aim is to conduct several sports events in the near future and also get the youth in the country to understand the value of sports,” said Dilan in an interview with Sunday Times.
Dilan said that the when the Supersport Schools Volleyball Competition started there were only a handful of teams. “Today it is one of the major competitions in the country and it is being played in all parts of the country.”
A survey shows that volleyball is one of the world’s most popular team sports. It is also the National Sport in Sri Lanka. All what the sport requires is an indoor or outdoor court that measures 18 meters long and nine meters wide. A net suspended across the center of the court divides it in half. The top of the net is 2.4, meters high for men’s games and 2.24 meters high for women’s competitions. Spiking is a key feature in the game where players leap high and smash the ball into the opponent’s court.
William G. Morgan, a physical education instructor in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA invented the game in 1905 and Indoor Volleyball became an official sport of the Olympic Games in 1964.
In preparation for the Beach Games a Beach Volleyball a grass root course was held in Marawila recently. Thirty two participants including two female coaches completed the six day residential training programme. They were awarded FIVB certificates. Dilan expressed confidence that these coaches who represent all the provinces would be able to popularize Beach Volleyball by introducing the game to more schools and clubs.
Dilan was also hopeful that Hambantota will be the venue for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The bid to stage the event was made in Malaysia by the Governor of the Central Bank Nivrad Cabraal and the final decision will be taken in St. Kitts in the West Indies in September. The other bidder for the Games is Gold Coast in Australia.
“The SAF Beach Games will be a good forerunner for the Commonwealth Games,” said Dilan. |
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