A training program on rugby refereeing organised under the Rugby Navodaya development program by the Ministry of Education will be conducted on June 3 to 4 in Jaffna Central College, Jaffna.
Among 40 participants, there are 15 rugby players represent the University of Jaffna, 10 physical training instructors from the Ministry of Education, Jaffna while several players from Sri Lanka Army too are registered for the training program.
After the scheduled training session on the first day, a rugby tournament for U14 and U16 to measure the success of the program and a ceremony to distribute rugby balls among the local schools will be held on the second day. The donation of rugby balls is made by Isipathana College, Colombo.
The training session is conducted by Anil Jayasinghe and Kamal Jayawardena of Sri Lanka Rugby Referees’ Society (SLRRS) while several other top referees will also assist the trainers.
This program is a collaboration of Major General Udaya Perera (Security Forces Commander of the North), Milroy Jayamanna (Director Sports, Ministry of Education), Asanga Seneviratne (President, Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union), Nalin De Silva (Secretary, Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union), Ranjith Chandrasekara (President, Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association), Susantha Mendis (Secretary, Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association), Orville Fernando (President, Sri Lanka Rugby Referees’ Society), Mahesh Senanayake (Secretary, Sri Lanka Rugby Referees’ Society), A.C. Perera (Principal, Isipathana College) and Dileep Dias (Executive Director, Innexgen International Holdings (Pvt) Ltd.).
Running under the blessings of International Rugby Board (IRB), the Rugby Navodaya development program also plans to conduct the same program in the Eastern Province too. The Rugby Novodaya invites donors to contribute for the program and the interested parties may contact K.S.P. Karunarathna, Coordinator Rugby Navodaya on 0774366787.
