Grand Finale of DSI Supersport Schools Volleyball Championship next week

Dammissara Central College Nattandiya will be aiming for a triple title as the best dozen from over 2,000 sides when the DSI Supersport Schools Vo l l e y b a l l Championship concludes next week. The six finals -- 3 Boys and 3 Girls -- of 3 age categories will be played next Friday and Saturday at the National Youth Services Centre, Maharagama.

Among the 12 teams that have made it to the finals, Dammissara Central have entered 3 finals -- the Under (U)-18 Boys and Girls and the U-16 boys. Among the other contenders who are in more than one final are St. Xavier's College Marawila and Galigamuwa Central School Kegalle. St. Xavier's are competing in the Boy's U-16 and U-14 age groups, while Galigamuwa Central are vying for the Girls' title in the U-18 and U-16 age groups.

The final round will ' spike' off from Friday with the U-14 Boys and Girls teams set to compete from 1.30 pm onwards. The U- 14 Girls final will be contested by Tissapura Vidyalaya, Uhana, Ampara and Vijayaba National School, Hungama as the curtain raiser to the finals. It will be followed by the U- 14 Boy's final between Rajasinghe Central School Ruwanwella and St. Xavier's College Marawila.

The U-16 and U-18 Boys and Girls finals will take place next Saturday from 9 am onwards. The first decider will be between Galigamuwa Central School Kegalle and Ratnapala Maha Vidyalaya Mahauswewa for the U-16 Girls' title. It will be followed by the U-16 Boy's final between top contenders Dammissara Central College Nattandiya and St. Xavier's College, Marawila.

The cynosure of the whole competition will be the U-18 Girls' and Boy's finals. Dammissara Central will be clearly aiming for a double when their U-18 Girls' team take on Galigamuwa Central in Kegalle, who are also appearing in two finals. But the real battle will be for the Under- 18 Boy's title between Dammissara Central and St. Joseph Vaz College Wennappuwa.

The objective of this championship is to provide players from both rural and urban sectors, an opportunity to showcase their talents on a national platform, as well as a means of supporting players in the development of their careers. Players worthy of recognition stand the chance of becoming members of Sri Lanka’s National Volleyball team and represent the country at international tournaments. This initiative, which first began in 1999 with the participation of 198 teams, had over 2,000 teams participating in the district level matches this year, with 300 teams making it all the way to the National level.

The massive competition is sponsored by DSI with the support of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation, Sri Lanka Schools Volleyball Association and the Ministry of Education. All matches will be telecast 'LIVE' according to the organisers.