More teams will be in action as S. Thomas’ Prep School Colpety has once again come forward to organize the Youth Rugby Carnival to be held on June 22 at the CR&FC ground at Longdon Place.
It is also organized to foster the game of rugby that has fast become a popular sport among the youth in Sri Lanka.
There is an increase in the number of teams that will participate this time. There will be 12 schools that will field 42 teams, compared to 38 last year, with 528 enthusiastic players that will be in action.
The Carnival will cater to players in the under-10, 12, 14 and 16 age categories. While many of the prominent schools have entered there will also be some schools that are new to the scene.
Teams in the under-10 and 12 age categories will be issued with certificates while the under-14 and 16 age categories will be playing for trophies such as Cup, Bowl and Plate.
The under-10, 12 and 14 teams will consist of seven players each while there will be eight teams in the under-16 category fielding eleven players each.
Rev. Nihal Fernando the headmaster of the Preparatory school said that by organizing the event again they hope to take rugby to more people and places and spectators will be charged a fee to enter.
They have also obtained sponsors in Rio Ice cream, Elephant House and STC class of 80 who will support the tournament. A carnival atmosphere will also be prevalent during the tournament.
Dilroy Fernando the architect of many a rugby promotion event in the country is the Tournament Director and will oversee the conduct of the tournament that will have the cream of schools budding talent in action. There will also be a team of medical officers and two ambulances at the venue in case of serious injuries.
The prominent schools who will field teams are Royal College, Isipathana College, S. Thomas’ College, St. Peter’s College and Sri Sumangala College while teams from lesser known schools such as Royal College Panadura, St. Anthony’s College Wattala, Hindu College Colombo and Carey College will also be in the fray.
Groupings are as follows:
Under-10:
Group A: STC Prep ‘B’, STC, SPC, Isipathana and Royal Panadura
Group B: Sri Sumangala, Panadura, St. Anthony’s Wattala, S. Thomas’ Prep ‘A’, Prince of Wales and Royal College.
Under-12:
Group C: Prince of Wales, S. Thomas Prep ‘A’, St. Peter’s and St. Anthony’s Wattala.
Group D: Hindu College, S. Thomas’ Prep ‘B’, S de S Jayasinghe and Royal Panadura.
Group E: Sri Sumangala, Panadura, Isipathana, CMS Kotte, Royal College.
Under-14:
Group J: S. Thomas’ Prep, Royal College and CMS Kotte.
Group K: Prince of Wales, Hindu College and St. Anthony’s Wattala.
Group L: AGOAL Rugby Academy, Royal Panadura and St. Peter’s College.
Group M: Carey College, Sri Sumangala Panadura and S. Thomas’ College.
Under-16:
Group P: SDS Jayasinghe, Prince of Wales, St. Peter’s College and S. Thomas’ Prep ‘A’.
Group Q: CIS, Sri Sumangala Panadura, Hindu College and CMS Kotte.
