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| Sunday, 14 March 2004 |
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Sports |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Caltex sponsors Dhammissara N.S. VB team for better results Dhammissara National School in the Puttalam District is a school that is earning for sports, but with little resources. It was established in 1941 with a student population of just 80 students, but has now grown in leaps and bounds and has around 4,000 students, both boys and girls and with a staff of 138. The game of volleyball started at the school in 1970 and is what fancies the boys of this school. Being one of the least expensive games to participate in, there is a tremendous enthusiasm for the game and with the keenness shown by the boys, the school authorities too have gone in a big way for this game. Rather than lament and stay in the background saying no funds and strut out the excuse that without funds they cannot indulge in sports, the school, though with great difficulty has been able to somewhat find the funds for sports - especially volleyball so that the boys of the school will not be left behind. Facilities fees if what the school charge from the students. "Facility fees amount to Rs. 60 per student for the year and the old boys of the school lend a helping hand to keep sports alive at the school," said Principal W. M. Ranty Silva who has been there for the last two years. It's a bilingual school and when it started in 1941, there were classes till the GCE Ordinary Level, then the school expanded up to GCE Advanced Level with classes in Science, Arts, Mathematics and Languages. Tuesday, March 9 turned out to be a 'Red Letter' day for this school in Nattandiya, as a 'godsend' came their way with Caltex boss Kishu Gomes, who had heard about this school, summoned his executives in office and in a collective move decided that the company who have helped some other schools to improve their standing in various sports, should also help this school. There was a festive air around the school premises that day with a whole lot of national flags fluttering in the strong morning breeze and in the school hall there were announcements both in Sinhalese and English by the students and it went to show that given the opportunity, Dhammissara National School will make their presence felt. Volleyball is the sport that the school cherishes and the boys showed in no uncertain manner why they are called the champions. The year 2003 turns out to be somewhat a productive year for volleyball at the school. The under 19 boys and girls were runners-up in the National Schools Tournament, while the under 17 boys won the National Schools boys title, while the under 17 girls had a double triumph, winning both the National Schools title and the DSI Super Sports Volleyball titles. The school has won the DSI Inter-School Championships between 1999 and 2003. The school authorities are somewhat happy that there is a back-up squad too to keep the game going at the school. The under-14 and under-15 squads won the runners-up and third placed trophies at the DSI Super Sports Tournament and National Schools Tournament respectively. It's not only volleyball that the school is concentrating at the moment. The school has adequate success at the National School Games track and field events. Here too, the school is short of equipment like hurdles and a lot of repair work has to be put in order to get them on the track. Track and field events were first started in 1941 and if the ground is done up, the girls and boys are bound to bring results. However, lack of funds is what holds the school back. There may be someone who will come up with help for athletes as well. There were also two netball goals on the field that showed that the girls also played netball. But here too, there has to be nets round the goal ring on top. There is also provision for a matting wicket to be laid out for cricket. However, the ground is uneven at various places and it is a hard ground and with the prevalent drought conditions in the area, it is difficult to play cricket or even run on the uneven ground. The school is very much sports conscious and the authorities are doing their best to give all the facilities to the students so that they will indulge in sports activities and ultimately become useful citizens of the country in later life. Besides the outdoor activities, there is provision for indoor sports like chess for which there are around 150 students that follow classes. There is also judo and karate. So, the school is not short of sports facilities, only funds are needed to enable the authorities to get the sports activities moving - and boys and girls will surely deliver the results. Sponsoring sports events is nothing new to Caltex. They sponsor the ever-popular Caltex League Rugby Tournament and they also sponsor a competition through the Sunday Observer. Caltex boss Kishu Gomes thanked the Principal, staff and all others for giving them the opportunity to lend support towards the development of volleyball in the school. Caltex came forward to help the school for two reasons, one - proven performance as the best school in Sri Lanka in both boys and girls volleyball and two - lack of resources available, being the criteria for this generous sponsorship. As for Caltex, all they want is for the people to recognise the value of our support to an outstation school that is blessed with immense talent. Dhammissara National School, Nattandiya has had a tremendous track record of wins despite having to go through hardships due to resource limitations. Volleyball is Sri Lanka's national game, therefore it needs support. (A.C.de S) |
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