Ratnapura to host National Sports Festival for the first time

Ratnapura will host the 43rd National Sports Festival (NSF) from September 12 to 18, to be conducted by the Sports Ministry. This will be the first ever NSF to be held in Ratnapura, for which the construction of the new Sabaragamuwa Sports Complex is now in progress. It will include a swimming pool, an indoor stadium and a restaurant. The 43rd NSF will have 34 Sports, of which 9 Sports- Volleyball (Men, Women), Handball (Men, Women), Football (Men, Women), Netball, Boxing (Men, Women),Wrestling (Men), Basketball (Men, Women), Kabaddi (Men, Women) and Athletics (Men, Women)- will be held in Ratnapura, while Judo, Carom, Hockey, Rugby, Wushu, Weightlifting, Tug-O-War, Badminton, Chess, Taekwando, Cricket, Karate, Bodybuilding and Gymnastics will be staged at the Torrington Stadium in Colombo. Beach Volleyball and Kabadi will be at the Negombo beach. Table Tennis will be at the S.Thomas’ Indoor Stadium. Triathlon, Marathon, Racewalking, Cycling will be at Embilipitiya. The team events will commence on July 6. The National Cross-country race in connection with the NSF has been completed. The Sports Ministry has decided to set up 4 synthetic tracks in the island. One of them will be at the Sabaragamuwa Sports Complex. The NSF will be conducted in 4 Stages. Stage I will be the Divisional Secretariat, Stage II will be at District Level, Stage III at Province level and Stage IV at National level. From Stage I to National level, 50,000 athletes will take part. Stage I at Divisional Secretariat level has already commenced. The main and last event of the 43rd NSF will be Track & Field, which will be from September 15 to 18 at Ratnapura. Around 2,000 athletes will take part in the Athletics Championships. Total cost of the event is estimated at Rs 5 billion.