The Mercantile Volleyball Association of Sri Lanka will organise the annual Mercantile Volleyball Tournament in another bid to popularize the national sport and widen interest in the game.
Last year over 100 teams participated and the organizers expect this number to increase further. An official of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation said this is the seventh successive year the it is holding the tournament since its revival in 2012 after a lapse of five years.
This year’s tournament will be held in September and November. It has now become a regular feature in the annual sports calendar in Mercantile Sector and a number of well-known companies and brands have joined in as sponsors.
MAS, Sunquick, Lanka Tiles, Brandix, Expo Lanka Holdings, Sri Lanka Telecom, David Pieris Motor Company, Damro and Omega Line have lined up as sponsors.
The preliminary rounds will be held at the Maharagama Youth Services Centre Court on September 1 and 2 while the finals will be held in November.
To qualify for participation, the players should have served in their respective companies for a minimum of three months. Meanwhile registrations are open to new clubs until August 20 and the tournament will be held under three categories - Super League, Championship A Division. Prize money on offer for the winning teams will exceed Rs1.5 million according to the organisers in addition to prize money for individuals.
All affiliated organizations have been requested to forward entries to reach the Mercantile Volleyball Association, No 33, Torrington Place, Colombo 7 with the envelope marked ‘Mercantile Volleyball 2018’ on the top left-hand corner.
Further details can be obtained by calling 0710682682 (Chandana) or 0776485456 (Buddhi) or logging on to www.mva.lk or by E-mailing [email protected]