Red Cross Youth athletic meet from Sept. 12-14

Bernad PERERA

The fourth annual Red Cross National Youth Athletic Championship will get underway at the public ground Polonnaruwa on Sept. 12 and will continue till Sept 14 said Col. S.B. Madugalle at apress briefing held at Sugathadasa Sports Hotel.

He said that the Championship which commenced at Matara soon after the 2004 tsunami with the intention of bringing the masses of the tsunami victims back to their normalcy. This helped the Red Cross Youth Section to continue with the Meet as an annual event.

The Red Cross National Youth Section which comprise of over twenty thousand youth members from various age groups has made arrangements to conduct the Athletic meet in the outstation to attract the younger generation to wards the Red Cross which is doing an excellent service for the masses of this country.

He further added that the Youth Section of the organization has taken great pains to conduct this event as it has to serve the all alike giving every member the opportunity to compete.

The 26 preliminary meets were held at district level for which 20,000, members competing to make their way to the final to be held in Polonnaruwa. This year the organizers have included cricket and netball too to give the young none athlets the opportunity to participate in sports.

These two sports were conducted in Colombo earlier this month. He said it was encouraging to note that 30 competitors from Jaffna have confirmed their participation this year in addition to the competitors from Trincomalee and Baticaloa. The organizers have made arrangements to give them the security needed with help from the three Armed Forces.

The participants from these areas will be provided with all requirements they need, said Col.Madugalle.

Col. Madugalle also said that the organizers have made it a point to have this meet in the outstations as it will give the chance for the rural folk to compete alongside others from various parts of the country. This meet will also serve as a trial to pick young talent to feed the national pool for the future.

The Red Cross which picks the Best talented athletes will support these athletes by way financial and other requirements to improve their sporting careers to reach national levels in their particular events.

The winners of both Boys and Girls will go away with the National Red Cross Youth Championship Trophy.

The 1300 competitors will commence their events when the meet gets underway at 2.30 p.m. with the opening ceremony under the patronage of the Minister of Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Maithripala Sirisena.

The closing and the awards ceremony is scheduled for 2.30p.m. on Sept 14 with the head of the Sri Lanka National Red Cross Society, Jagath Abeysinghe as chief guest.