Entries called for 30th Eva Western Province Open
Entries are now accepted for the 30th Eva All-Island and Open Schools Netball Tournament, organised and conducted annually by the Western Province Netball Association (WPNA), and with the able sponsorship of Eva of ICL Brands. Rated as one of the key competitions in Sri Lanka’s annual netball calendar event, the tournament will be held at the Rifle Greens, the Air Force ground in Colombo, on January 11 and 12, featuring talents across from the whole island.
The two-day event will see the participation of both male and female players, as it has been a notable feature since the recent years in the predominantly female sport. The tournament will be open to teams from clubs, mercantile firms, government institutions, banks, universities and schools that are affiliated to their respective associations, which guarantees the participation of almost the entire fraternity of netball players of the island.
Selonica Perumal, Director Marketing, ICL (4th from left), presents the Eva Trophy to Caryll Tozer, the President of WPNA, in the presence of Navindu Thuduwage (Brand Executive, Eva), Lavanya Kathiresanthan (Asst. Brand Manager, Eva), Roni Chacko, (CEO, ICL), Sandya Rajapaksha (Deputy President, WPNA), Rio Ramlan (Secretary, WPNA) and Nimalika Thushanthi (Tournament Secretary, WPNA)
The competition will be broken down to four divisions with Division ‘A’ being the elite segment with Open Women’s, including national players, and Open Men’s. The Division ‘B’ will be only for females and the Veteran’s Division will be for players of the age category of 40 and above. The Schools Division will have three different age groups – Under-19, Under-17 and Under-15 – and the WPNA has taken a bold step to enter school teams without a fee, with the intention of attracting more teams from schools, both public and international.
“Registration will be open until January 6, 2025, and a team can register 12 players and three officials. For schools, no entry fees will be applicable, and the WPNA has officially received the approval from the Ministry of Education for schools from the Western Province. Schools from other provinces also could enter the tournament, if they can produce the official clearance letter from their respective Director of Provincial Education Department,” explained Nimalika Thushanthi, the Tournament Secretary.
The sponsor, ICL Brands (Pvt) Ltd, has been an integral part of this annual tournament conducted by the WPNA with their feminine hygiene product brand ‘Eva’ for decades, and has even introduced a scholarship programme for selected girls from school teams that participate in the tournament.
“Netball represents teamwork, perseverance, passion and commitment, qualities we deeply value. This year marks 30 years of our consistent commitment as sponsors, as we thrive to inspire more individuals. Eva is proud to be a stakeholder for many decades with WPNA, which has created opportunities for athletes across the country to showcase their talent,” stated Roni Chacko, the CEO of ICL Brands.
Despite the parent governing body, the Sri Lanka Netball Association, being put under the purview of a Competent Authority due to administrative issues, the WPNA will go ahead with their annual core competition, which is on par to national level. WPNA officials stated that they have sought assistance from every possible channel to continue with
their tournament, which will see the presence of national selectors. Netball Referees’ Association will provide match officials for the
two-day event.
“This tournament, which we annually conduct with great enthusiasm, has always been about creating equal opportunities for players, especially schoolgirls, where the format guarantees multiple games per team. The WPNA should profoundly show our gratitude to our sponsor, Eva, for their unwavering support which has been invaluable and by now has added more value to the tournament,” Caryll Tozer, the President of WPNA said.
Winners of the tournament will receive the Eva Trophy, and the organisers will crown the Netball Queen and Netball King based on individual performances. From a total participation of over 190 teams, last season Sri Lanka Air Force emerged Division ‘A’ champions while Airwoman T.D. Wattegedara was crowned the Netball Queen. United SC, Negombo won the Men’s title, with Eranga Sithara of the victorious team claiming the Netball King title. Sri Lions won the Division ‘B’ segment while the Veteran’s Division was claimed by Track Masters SC. In the Schools Division, Our Lady of Victories Convent, Moratuwa emerged Under-19 champions, while Siri Piyaratana MV, Padukka and Maliyadeva Girls’ School, Kurunegala won the Under-17 and Under-15 titles respectively.