The 33rd National Youth Sports Festival which begins today at the Sugathadasa Stadium will be hit by cricket fever with the 26 district teams being re-branded with LPL (Lanka Premier League) styled names such as Hambantota Leopards with new logos to make the event more appealing and competitive.
“For the first time in the history of this competition we will maintain a database of athletes and results displayed on electronic scoreboards providing a digital platform to keep pace with the new age,” said Damitha Wickramasinghe, the Director General of the National Youth Services Council (NYSC) at a press conference held at their headquarters in Maharagama on Tuesday.
“Despite the many challenges we faced because of the COVID-19 situation, we were able to conduct Pradeshiya and District competitions before the finals within a short span of three months thanks to the leadership given by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Namal Rajapaksa,” he said.
“To spice up the competition we have made new logos and given the district franchise names like in the LPL,” he added, lauding the IT (Information Technology) Department of NYSC for their efforts to upgrade the website to make results available at the click of a button.
Jointly organised by the Sports Ministry, National Youth Services Council and Sri Lanka Federation of Youth Clubs (SLFYC), the Youth Sports Festival will have 3000 athletes competing for honours in the under-20 and over-20 age categories.
Athletes will compete in 17 men’s and women’s disciplines during the four-day event which continues till December 22.
The champion team will receive a cash award of Rs 150,000 while the first and second runner-up will be awarded Rs 100,000 and Rs 75,000 respectively.
The opening ceremony of this event will be held at 3.30 pm today in the presence of State Minister of Urban Development, Waste Disposal and Community Cleanliness Nalaka Godahewa, State Minister of Rural and School Sports Infrastructure Improvement Thenuka Vidanagamage, Secretary to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Anuradha Wijekoon, NYSC Director General Damitha Wickramasinghe and SLFYC secretary Dilshan Chathuranga Jayakuru. The Olympic Torch will be lit by Gampaha District sprinter Sadeepa Henderson, Kegalle District athlete Chamod Yodhasinghe and Galle District high jumper BRIU Kumara who excelled in the last Games.
The closing ceremony of the championship will be held under the patronage of Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa at 3.30 pm on December 22.