John Tarbert Junior Athletic Meet at Wennappuwa

Sir John Tarbert All Island Milo Junior Athletic Championship organised by the Sri Lanka Athletic Association (SLSAA) with the patronage of the Ministry of Education and sponsored by Nestle Lanka Limited is to be held for the 40th time from June 19-21 2009, at Albert F. Peiris Stadium, Wennappuwa.

This was disclosed to the media at a news conference by officials of the SLSAA, at Hotel Capri and held last Thursday.

Secretary of the SLSAA, Anil Weerasinghe said that 360 schools have confirmed their participation in the age groups of under-12, under-13, under-14 and under-15 for girls and boys.

He said that 1,850 boys and 1,430 girls from different parts of the country will compete at this athletic championships, with accommodation for boys being provided at Joseph Vaz College, Wennappuwa and for girls at Holy Family Convent in Wennappuwa.

In conjunction to the Athletic championships, an Under-20 half-marathon from Madampe to Wennappuwa covering a distance of 21.5 km will also be held. The K. A. Karunaratne Challenge Trophy and the Thamara Padmini Challenge Trophy will be presented to the winners of the boys and girls events respectively, in honour of two former national champs who brought glory to the country.

President of the SLSAA Keerthi de Alwis noted that the Sir John Tarbert Junior All Island Athletic Championship has been the platform for rural athletes to aspire for national honours in the past and thanked Nestle Lanka Ltd for coming forward to sponsor the meet this year as well. The SLSA Secretary Anil Weerasinghe told reporters that the championship had to be relocated to Wennappuwa from its original location of Kurunegala due to the outbreak of the Dengue virus in the latter district.

He assured all competitors that Wennappuwa has been declared free from the epidemic with no reported cases being found thus far and expressed his optimism that the championship could be held sans any untoward incidents.

External Affairs Manager of Nestle Lanka Limited Bandula Egodage also spoke.

(JK)