SINGER TO POWER SCHOOLS RUGBY FOR 15TH SUCCESSIVE YEAR
Singer Sri Lanka is a synonymous name for the support of sports in Sri Lanka, which they have been involved in for more than three decades. They were the main sponsor when the Sri Lankan cricketers brought the prestigious ICC World Cup under the captaincy of “Captain Cool” Arjuna Ranatunga in 1996.
From there on they have been involved with schools sports and one is the sport of rugby, where the former Singer chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya offered to sponsor the schools rugby league tournament in 2003.
The partnership since then has not taken a back seat, it has gone from strength to strength and again Singer have come forward to support the most popular and much looked forward to schools rugby league tournament which they will be doing for the 15th successive year.
This was revealed at a press briefing held at the Waters Edge which was graced by Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Minister of Education, along with officials of the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) and distinguished guests.
Minister Kariyawasam speaking on the occasion stressed that he is keen to uplift the standard of sports at schools level by restructuring the sports unit with able bodied administrators and develop sports to reach international level.
Speaking further the Minister said, “That one sport is rugby, we need to improve our present schools rugby system with the aim of producing more schools players in to the national team to represent the country and added that the schools sports development division are on the look out to improve the present system and rearrange it with capable new people so more talented rugby players from the school section will represent the Sri Lanka national team in the near future.
Asoka Peiris, CEO, Singer Sri Lanka commended the effort taken by their former chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya in joining ties with the schools rugby league way back in 2003 and continuing their support for schools rugby.
He further stated that Singer has a rich history of supporting Sri Lanka rugby at all levels and one testimony is the support extended to the Bradby Shield encounter for the last 27 years and also the support for league champions Kandy SC for the last 15 years.
Additionally Singer has also given exposure to Sri Lanka rugby players and fans by conducting an international rugby tournament last year by organising the International Rugby 7’s for the first time in Sri Lanka.
“So we are proud to be involved with the highly anticipated schools rugby league this year too by giving a lending hand to the SLSRFA to conduct the tournament smoothly and we look forward to support them in the future too,” he concluded.
Sunil Jayaweera, advisor to the Minister of Education addressing the gathering said that the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association was formed in 1988 when the present Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Minister of Education.
At the inception the association started off with 50 schools now it has extended to over 200 plus schools that are actively playing the sport across four divisions.
B.A. Abeyratne, President of SLSRFA emphasised that Singer Sri Lanka has always set the trend and standard when it comes to how the corporate world can support sports in the country.
“We are grateful for Singer’s continued support over the past 14 years and we look forward to take this bond to greater heights in the future,” in conclusion he said that Singer’s involvement in schools rugby has helped the SLSRFA to take the sport to rural areas.
In fact the Singer schools rugby league tournament is being participated by 97 schools around the island involving three divisions. The first round of the league tournament which kicked off in late February is almost at the tail end. The second round is scheduled to resume after the Sinhala and Tamil New Year which a date has not been confirmed yet.