School rugby body in quandary as A/L exam likely to be postponed
The Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) is in a quandary as to when it will get the green light to recommence the stalled Dialog Schools Rugby League, after the virtual shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, the SLSRFA was optimistic of recommencing the Dialog Schools League Tournament by end of July before the completion of the G.C.E. Advance Level (A/L) examination, but it looks like the wait will be a bit longer than expected.
According to the Vice President of the SLSRFA, Susantha Mendis, the possibilities are high of the G.C.E. A/L examination being further postponed, which will directly impact the much awaited competition in a huge way.
Government authorities allowed schools to reopen under different phases, but on Thursday revealed that the final decision on the dates for the G.C.E. A/L and Grade 5 Scholarship examinations would be confirmed after a round of discussion with the education authorities and experts.
With the new changes, the SLSRFA is forced to reduce the number of games of the Dialog Schools League considerably, but it may stick to the number of games scheduled during the first round of the competition.
"We may have to reduce the number of games from four to two in the second round and proceed with the Knockout Tournament. But we will have to wait for the full clearance from the health and education authorities, before confirming anything," Mendis told the Sunday Times.
Rugby sources confirmed that the officials of SLSRFA has met its main sponsor, Dialog Axiata PLC earlier last week, to discuss the prospect of the school competitions. Mendis confirmed that a meeting took place and the future plans for the remainder of the year 2020 was discussed.
Sri Lanka is also scheduled to host the Asian Junior Rugby Championship, which may clash with the upcoming Dialog Knockout Championship. It is still unclear if the Asian Junior Championship would be played before or after the knockout competition, but it is likely that the Schools Sevens Championship could face a cancellation this year.
"We are still uncertain of what will clearly take place. As at present, we have planned to allow school teams to start training by early October, with the aim of recommencing the League soon afterwards. For anything to go ahead, we must first receive the confirmed dates for the G.C.E. Advance Level examination, and the full clearance from health and education authorities. We may be able to confirm by next week," Mendis added.
Schools islandwide, were reopened from June 29 for administrative and staff members but students are required to return to their classrooms in three different phases.
On March 12 the Ministry of Education decided to shut down all schools until April 20, then it was further extended until May 11. When the decision was made initially, the SLSRFA called off scheduled matches for the week, before temporarily halting the League tournament. But the match between St. Anthony's and Trinity was played behind closed gates at Nittawela.