RONALD FORBES. Better known as Ron Forbes, lives in Melbourne with his wife Carmeline (also known as Bubbles) and his two daughters Judy and Jenny.

Ron recently celebrated his Eightieth (80th birthday), and the highlight of the celebration was Ron who wore and was very proud of his St Peter's College neck tie.

As an Old Boy of St Peter's College, the Forbes family are always proud of their education at St Peters. In fact Ron's youngest brother Iain,  who was at the function on the day was also an old Peterite, and was the first President of the St Peters College OBU in NSW.

As a Peterite  Ron won many  awards in Elocution, and was famous for singing, together with his Cousin the very famous Bill Forbes, presently in England .Ron and Bubbles were also famous for singing at weddings/ funerals and  in fact any occasion which needed some professional singers.

All Peterites, and their families wish Ron, many more years of good health and happiness in their new found home in Melbourne Victoria.

May the good Lord Bless him and his family.

The above message was sent to JPAA Canada by Ron's brother Iain Forbes, an Old Peterite in Melbourne.

MESSAGE FROM ALGI WIJEWICKREMA – HONY. EDITOR (OBU-SPC)

The OBU is proud to announce that it now has its own FB page (OBU St. Peter's College, Colombo 4, Sri Lanka) and all of you Old Petes, young and old, who have their own facebook pages are invited to "like" it.

In addition to the PEN (Peterite Email Network) and the website www.stpetersobu.com, we will post announcements, news, updates, etc. on this FB page and hope this additional communication channel will be another avenue through which you will keep yourself updated.

This invitation to "like" the OBU FB page is also to all batches, groups, year groups, et al who have their own FB pages as they can update their friends and members via the OBU FB page.

Our thanks is due to Neil Pereira who helped create it.

Algi Wijewickrema – Hony. Editor (OBU – SPC)

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Requiem Mass for Departed Old Peterites

The OBU of St. Peter's College will have Mass offered for the repose of the souls of all departed Peterites on Thursday, 21st November at 6:00 pm in the College Chapel.

Courtesy of Ranjan Anandappa – Sunday Observer

Two fine performances by Priyamal Perera (81 and a match bag of 5 for27) and Aravinda Akurugoda (match bag of 6 for 46) helped St.Joseph’s to beat Maris Stella College ,Negombo by 79 runs in the Under 19 school cricket encounter played at Darley Road yesterday.

The Joes batting first scored 266 for 6 declared on the first day with skipper Dylan Fernandopulle (38), Nirvana Abeysekera (70) and Priyamal Perera (81) doing the bulk of the scoring. Shehan Chaturanga bowled best for the Maristonians taking 5 for 91) Maris Stella in their first innings were 104 for 6 overnight but lost their last four wickets for 10 runs. Left arm leg spinner Aravinda Akurugoda ( 4 for 14) were the pick of the Josephian bowlers.

The Negombo school following on with a deficit of 152 runs fared no better in their second innings being dismissed for 94 facing 43.3 overs. Vihanga Ravishanker (25) and the first innings top scorer Chaturanga Rajapakse ( 18) were able to reach double figures.

St.Joseph’s 266 for 6 declared. (Duran de Alwis 23, Dylan Fernandopulle 38, Sadeera Samarawickrema 30, Nirvana Abeysekera 70, Priyamal Perera 81, Shehan Chaturanga 5 for 91)

Maris Stella 104 for 6 overnight 114 in 43.2 overs (Chaturanga Rajapaksa 61, Fabian Fernando 2 for 11, Aravinda Akurugoda 4 for 19, Priyamal Perera 3 for 2) and following on 94 all out ( Vihanga Ravishankar 25, Chaturanga Rajapaksa 18, Fabian Fernando 3 for 20, Priyamal Perera 2 for 25, Aravinda Akurugoda 2 for 27, Malshan Rodrigo 3 for 10)

MARTIN – HENRY (Retired Sergeant Major – S.L. Army Artillery and Course Superintendent Royal Colombo Golf Club). Beloved husband of Francisca, loving father of the late Johnny and of Tony (Manager, St. Peter’s Gym), Anne, Rev. Fr. Trevor (Rector, Loyola College – Negombo), Anslem (National Tour Guide Lecturer), Carmelita and Marina (Standard Chartered Bank), father-in-law of Romain, Seneka, Bony and Rukshan, grandfather of Charmain, Andrea, Gihani, Sandya, Gihan, Hiran, Reshan and Maleesha, expired. Cortege leaves residence on Sunday the 10th November at 2.30 p.m. for Holy Mass at St. Mary’s Church, Dehiwela (3 p.m.) followed by Burial at Borella Kanatte at 4.30 p.m. No. 62/4, Pieris Avenue, Kalubowila, Dehiwala

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The Membership Secretary of the SPC OBU Melborne Branch, Keith Bennet sends the following information:

Edward Lodewyke
It’s with great sadness that we inform you of the passing away of Edward (Traves) Lodewyke.

Traves as he was affectionately known to all Peterites was a member of the Committee and an ardent supporter of the Club.

His funeral arrangements are as follows:
Service Monday 11th Nov at 11 a.m. Clayton Assembly Of God, 7 Olive Street, Clayton and thereafter for burial at 1.15 p.m.  Boyd Chapel Springvale Cemetery

May he rest in peace.

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LEST WE FORGET – ARDEN NELSON COMBO OF THE SIXTIES BY UPALI OBEYESEKERE

Arden Nelson is a name synonymous with music in the sixties in Colombo. Many from this era would recall the Arden Nelson Combo with familiarity for having played for your engagement, wedding or other social functions you attended. Many old Peterites here in Canada would ofcourse remember the galaxy of musicians that walked the same hallways as us and later became stars in the music field in Sri Lanka and overseas. Arden was one such star. He was a quieter person, not the typical hyped up musician but a talented musician who had a passion to contribute to the evolving music scene in Colombo at the time. He formed the Arden Nelson Combo in the early 60s and played the Saxophone. The combo comprised of Arden on Sax, Lester Weinman on Piano, Tissa Jayatileke on Trumpet, Geoff Labrooy on Drums and another who dabbled with a skiffle base.

The initial influence that fashioned the Arden Nelson Combo was music made famous by the Dutch Swing College Band who had big hits like ‘Ice Cream’, ‘Marina’, and ‘Tennessee Waltz Rock’. The overall characteristic sound of the Dutch Swing College Band required a string instrument such as a ‘Banjo’ and after searching around Arden found an unknown banjo player by the name of Raddy Ferreira who brought his talent into the group. The Combo had gigs at most night clubs and dances in those days. It did not take long for Raddy to make it ‘big’ on his own. As time went by, the Arden Nelson Combo scame to be known as ‘The Musical Comets’ and later to ‘Raddy Ferreira Combo’. Raddy switched to Piano after Lester Weinman won a Dufferin Scholarship and left the band to go to India for Marine Engineering studies. Travis Koch joined the band and did well with his Double Bass and Stanley Ranasinghe replaced Tissa Jayatileke playing the alto saxophone. With Arden Nelson playing the saxophone the band soon developed its trademark sound – the twin saxophone sound of Billy Vaughan Orchestra. Another Peterite Darrell de Silva, joined the band later on bass guitar. Stanley Ranasinghe was replaced by another Peterite Anton de Mel.

Incidentally, Darrell de Silva, Anton de Mel and Lester Weinman were all class mates of this writer and we shared some fond times together. Arden and Raddy were school mates – a class higher or junior, I cannot recall at present. But we used to walk to college from the Bamba Flats.

The band’s popularity increased and it was booked for weddings and dances at the Taprobane Hotel, Ceylinco House and Rugby Clubs such as Havelocks and CR & FC. The band had a good run till mid-sixties and split when Arden, Raddy and Darrell left for greener pastures and emigrated to Australia. In Melbourne, Arden focused more on his studies (Accounting) and played occasionally with his buddy Darrell de Silva’s band ‘Good Vibrations’ and a few other bands. Now he gets together with other musicians of the sixties era and plays Jazz Music, according to news from our classmate at St. Peter’s College – Darrell de Silva.

Arden is married to Marcia and the couple have four children – son Graham and three daughters and a few grandchildren. Recently, Arden (shown with his sax) celebrated his 70th birthday with family and friends. From what this writer learns, guests were enthralled to hear the golden sounds coming from the Saxophone played by Arden who had assembled a few of his old musical buddies and entertained the crowd to pretty good dance music. At this impromptu get together, his cousin Geoff Labrooy was on Drums, France Smith on rhythm guitar, Dallas Achilles on Trumpet, Rodney Jansz on lead guitar and Darrell de Silva on bass guitar. Birthday boy Arden Nelson had thrilled the guests with his Saxophone and the band had blended excellently.

Arden and Marcia visited Toronto about five years back and this writer had the pleasure of taking the couple to the Connections-55 dance organized by Archie and Wendy Keil. The Sri Lankan Anchorman takes this opportunity to extend our belated wishes to Arden for his October milestone birthday just passed. We wish him well.

What is An Anecdote?

Answer – An anecdote is a brief story of something that has happened in our lives, There are funny, interesting, and factual anecdotes, just to name a few.

JPAA Canada website is open to "anecdotes" from Old Boys of both schools – SJC & SPC. The input is subject to review before posting. Please share your life and times in the hallways, corridors and class rooms of two of Sri Lanka's leading Roman Catholic Educational Institutions – St. Joseph's College and St. Peter's College. Most of us have something to share that is funny, interesting, entertaining and even historical. Let's give it a shot and see what we can come up with. In order to get this menu item going, we may invite a few old boys from both schools to send us their stories in the next few weeks. Once they are posted, it is expected others will follow. So, go for it!

Please send your story to JPAA Canada President, Upali Obeyesekere in an e-mail to jpaacanada@rogers.com We will acknowledge your submission within 72-hours. It will be posted within a week of our receiving the e-mail.

Editor's Note: The idea for this came from an old Peterite who has distinguished himself academically and worked in the United Nations Oganization for over 25-years. He lives now in semi-retirement in Toronto, Canada and visits Sri Lanka often. We thank him for his input. 'Nothing ventured – Nothing gained". It is always nostalgic to read about events, people, teachers who meant much to us when we were in school. So let us open the forum, and invite all to contribute. Thanks!

We are indebted to the Pre-Seventies group (Keith Bennett & Stanley Lumanauf) for informing us the sad news of the passing of MAURICE DECKKER, Peterite cricketer of the sixties. He passed away this morning (November 2, 2013). Maurice Deckker had his baptism to 1st XI cricket when he was picked to open bowling in 1960, with Anton Perera – one of the fastest bowlers produced by St. Peter's College in 79 years of school cricket. Maurice played four years until 1963 and made an indelible mark at the time as a splendid fast bowler for his 'on the spot' fast pace deliveries. He also bowled his inswingers very effectively and was vice-captain to Tyrone Le Mercier in 1963.

OBITUARY – MAURICE DECKKER

DECKKER: Maurice (Old Boy St.Peters College) Beloved husband of Arlene, loving father of Tamara, Deborah (Australia), Jessica, Derrick and Michael, father-in-law of Darren (Australia), Lloyed, Verina and Theja, beloved grandfather of Nathan, Justin, Ashley, Janine, Leon, Liza, Christina, Stewart, Maxwell and Kateleyn. Beloved brother of Yvonne, Jermeyn (Australia) and Rienzie. His mortal remains at 18/9, Greenland Avenue, off Kadawatha Road, Nedimala, Dehiwala. Cortege leaves residence on Wednesday 6th November 2013 at 4.00pm for burial at Anderson Road General Cemetry, Nedimala, Dehiwala. 241370 –

On leaving school, Maurice played for Nomads as an employee of the Colombo Municipality where he worked as a Playground Instructor. But it is interesting to capture his performances in the "Big Match" encounters playing alongside players like Anton Perera (Los Angeles), Tyrone Le Mercier (Melbourne), Premasiri Athukorale, Adiel Anghie USA), David (U.K.) & Richard (USA) Heyn, Tissa Jayaweera (Melbourne), Travis Fernando, Darrell Wimalaratne, Peter de Neise (Melbourne), and others. Sadly, Premasiri Athukorale and Darrell Wimalaratne are no more while the others mentioned here live overseas. Only Travis Fernando and Maurice Deckker lived in Colombo, Sri Lanka presently,

Let us also look at Maurice Decker's performance in the Joe-Pete encounters from 1960-1963.

•1960 – SJC – 227 for 9 wickets and 161 for 3 wickets declared – SPC – 249 for 7 wickets declared and 30 for 2 wickets. Match Drawn. Maurice Decker had a match bag of 5 for 72 in the two innings taking 3 for 32 in the 1st innings bowling out star batsman Raja de Silva, and Lakshman Fernando and taking the wicket of N. Samaranayake. In the 2nd innings, Maurice took the wicket of Raja de Silva again and clean bowled skipper Priya Perera for 26. The match was drawn. The Peterites had a strong team in 1960 with Premasiri Athukorale captaining the side. Mark de Silva and Randy Layman opened the innings and Richard Alles went it at No.3 followed by skipper Athukorale, Adiel Andhie, Richard Heyn, Maurice Deckker, Anton Perera, Didacus de Almeida, Elmo Gunasekara and Tyrone Le Mercier. The Josephians had a strong top order batting line-up of Hilary Marcelline, Penrose Fernandopulle, Skipper Priya Perera, Raja de Silva, Tissa de Zoysa, Travis Perera, and Lakshman Fernando. The Josephian bowling was spear headed by pace bowler Brian Perumal and Lakshman Rasanayagam with Tissa de Zoysa, Priya Perera, Raja de Silva and Victor Wickramasinghe throwin in the spinners.

•1961 – SPC – 230 for 9 declared (Adiel Anghie – 101) – SJC – 109 All Out and 140 for 8 wickets. Match Drawn. Maurice Deckker scored 17 runs adding to the Peterite total and bagged only wicket in both innings. Peterites had five freshers in the side in 1961 with David Heyn, Tissa Jayaweera, Travis Fernando, Sam Rajah and Rohan Abyesundera joining the team. Adiel Anghie captained the side and scored a brilliant century that was the highlight of this close game. The Josephians were captained by all-rounder Raja de Silva. The Peterite batting line-up had Richard Alles and Sam Rajah opening with skipper Adiel Anghie going in at No.3 followed by the Heyn brothers Richard and David. Tissa Jayaweera went in at No.6 followed by Tyrone Le Mercier, Maurice Deckker, Didacus de Almeida,, Travis Fernando and burly Rohan Abeysundera.

•1962 – SPC – 55 All Out and 168 for 9 wkts declared. SJC – 82 and 139 for 9 wickets. Match Drawn. Maurice Deckker scored 5 and 3 in this low-scoring game. He captured 3 wickets for 11 in the 1st innings and did not take any wickets in the 2nd innings. The Peterites were led by Richard Heyn and had four freshers in a new opening combination of Adithiya de Silva and Ravindra Fernando, F. Bowen, and Clifford Bartlett. This game was a close low-scoring game with the Josephians having only 2-runs for victory with 1-wicket in hand. The Peterite batting line-up saw Adithiya de Silva and Ravindra Fernando opening the innings, Tissa Jayaweera going in at No.3 followed by Richard & David Heyn, Tyrone Le Mercier, Maurice Deckker, F. Bowen, Clifford Bartlett, Rohan Abeysundera and Travis Fernando. The Josephians were led by opening batsman Hilary Marcelline and had many newcomers in the side.

•1963 – SPC – 161 All Out and 152 for 4 wkys declared. SJC – 106 and 118 for 7 wickets. Match Drawn. This year was Maurice Decker's best year in the four Big Match encounters he played. Batting No.8 he scored 10 in the 1st innings and had a whirlwind unbeaten 46 runs in the 2nd innings and was associated in a hard-hitting partnership with David Heyn who was unbeaten with 64 runs. This partnership gave the Peterites enough runs to bid for victory and also made it if not for a stubborn unbeaten knock of 35 runs by Victor Wickramasinghe who saved the day for the Joes. 1963 was Tyrone Le Mercier's year to captain and the team openers were freshmen F. Asgerally and Darrell Wimalaratne. Ravindra Fernando came in No.3 followed by David Heyn, skipper Tyrone Le Mercier, Adithiya de Silva, Desmond Le Mercier, Maurice Deckker, F. Bowen, Peter de Neise, and Travis Fernando. The Joes were captained y Brian Perumal and Berchman and Joy de Alwis, Placidus Liyanage, Brian Pereira in the side. The Josephian-Peterite Alumni Association of Canada extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Maurice Deckker. May His Soul Rest in Peace!

This article has been extracted from St. Peter's College OBU Website.

The Golden Jubilee Joe Pete Cricket Re Match – Report

It started with an idea in 2007, and went on to become a reality in 2009. It was the 1984 Joe-Pete 50th Encounter re-match, with participation from players of the original two squads that took the field at the P. Sara Stadium all those years ago.

On Wednesday 4th March 2009 at the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) grounds, SPC led by Senarath Seneviratne and SJC led by Rajkumar Sabanayagam (in the absence of Jivaka Candappa),came together after 25 years to partake in this long awaited encounter. This re-match event had the blessing of both Schools in Colombo, and was featured in the programme as one of the key events in run up to the main 75th Joe-Pete Cricket encounter (played on 6th & 7th March 09 at P. Sara Stadium) celebrations. Therefore the 50th encounter players were only too happy to contribute and make this happen.

A very high percentage of the original players graced the field to partake in this unique event. Players flew in from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Hong Kong, UAE, and UK to join their team mates based in Sri Lanka to help make this event a success, A small organising committee from the start was set up to plan this event. After two years of numerous emails, phone calls (between Hong Kong, UK and Sri Lanka) and ad hoc rendezvous in Colombo, we made it! This whole event was self funded by the players of the two respective squads. Also the SPC team took this opportunity and made a donation of over LKR 550k to the SPC Cricket Foundation, through personal and souvenir advertisement means. This was a brilliant effort considering the collective cost (shared by SJC & SPC), to stage the CCC re-match event was LKR 450k.

As this event got closer, the competitiveness between the ‘Saints’ came out in many forms. For many who had not held a bat or ball for the last 25yrs, suddenly fitness and practises were top of the agenda. Brisk walks, road runs, visits to the gym, and hiring personal trainers run up to this event became the norm. Also the banter on emails and phone calls to the tune of, ‘we are going to give you a hiding’…….’our fast bowlers’ pace is still in the 90 mph range’…….’our batsman’s timing is still like Tendulkar’s’…….’we will show no mercy on the day’…….and many more ‘sledging’ remarks from both sides created a fascinating build up. Hey none of us wanted to lose this match (just imagine after the build ups if the result was not favourable, and to live with it for the rest of ones life?!?) Especially since we didn’t anticipate doing this again, after another 25 years in 2034! From the Peterite camp the build up in Colombo was brilliant. Some of us met for the first time after many years, at a party hosted by our Skipper at the CCC on 1st March. Our Skip thought it would be a good idea to do this when all our overseas based players reached Colombo, so that some of us could recognise each other by our different shapes, sizes and some with trendy bald hair cuts. Then we had a couple of practise sessions at the SPC grounds on 2nd and 3rd March. It was wonderful to see the same styles and mannerisms in action.

Also one of the highlights that made us all burst out with laughter, when our veteran Murugesh (grounds man of 33 years) had the cheek to say, and ‘if only we had practised so hard 25 years ago’. After two evenings of solid willow versus leather sessions, tactics and formats were discussed, and we were ready! Our skipper even imposed a curfew that night! I guess even after 25 years he was still in charge! So any grand plans of late night escapades some of us had, prior to this all important clash was put on hold in case we were spotted and reported to the team management. There was a lot at stake, and we had a mission to accomplish! So the stage was set for the 4th March at the CCC for this 30 over’s per side clash. With a papare band playing outside, popular music, and steel bands providing entertainment inside the pavilion helped to create a ‘big match’ atmosphere for the players and spectators.

From our event coordinators Romesh Kenny, Rohitha Thilakaratne and Prasadini Dekker to helper’s, players, umpires (provided by Sri Lanka Cricket) and scorer’s (provided by Sri Lanka Umpire Association) arrived early. Friends, family and invitees followed soon after. A re-match souvenir was also produced, thanks to individuals and Companies buying advertisements, which were also part of the donation made to the SPC Cricket Foundation. The Joe’s likewise donated their share to SJC. At 8am prompt official photographer Ajith Perera was there to capture us all in white, with our respective coach’s. Then he rushed off to his studio got it developed and framed as a memento, to be presented to the players at the end of the day. Now that is service! Further to this we were also lucky to have the camera clicking services of Ricardo Dekker all day. Many cool action shots were taken by him, including the attached photos.

The all important toss was won by Senarath our Skipper and without hesitation opted to bat first. Then just prior to the Umpire shouting ‘play’, both teams lined up together for a two minute silence in memory, of our fellow players and masters who were part of both squads, but no longer on this earth. After a good start SPC were suddenly 47 for 6, but recovered well to get 147 for 9 in 30 over’s. After a long lunch break with both teams mingling with each other and with family and friends, we went back in to the field of play. Our skipper’s motivational speech was, ‘right then lads some of us put in a lot of effort to organise this event, so nothing short of an SPC win is expected!’ So that is exactly what we did folks. After a great display on the field we won. SJC ended up at 143 for 8 in 30 over’s. SPC won by 4 runs.

We Won! We had to. It was a great feeling! What a match! (See attached the Daily News article). Our Josephian brothers came to the party from the very beginning, and helped to make this event great. They tell me their pre, during, and post Match experiences on and off the field was thoroughly enjoyable too. This was the main thing when we embarked on such a feat. That shows our friendship between both schools after many years continue to be extremely solid. (Also noted in Rev. Fr. Travis Gabriel’s speech). In fact amazing is the word that comes to mind. Reflecting after the event one can only feel very proud, that we pulled off something of this magnitude, and unique which went on to become an overwhelming success! When the sun eventually set on that glorious day at the CCC, more music, dancing, and a free bar kept us all going until late.

During the presentation ceremony very touching speeches by Rev Fr. Travis Gabriel (SPC Rector), chief guests Dr HIK Fernando (SPC Coach 1984), Fairlie Dalpathado (SJC Coach 1984), Senarath (SPC Captain), Rajkumar (SJC Captain), and a job well done by MC Nandi Anthony rounded off a superb day! Yours truly too contributed with a few words.

WHAT A MEMORY!

The teams, SJC…….Rajkumar Sabanayagam, Dharshana Muthumuni, Mohan Ratnayake, Rukshan Soza, Brian Rajadurai, Suresh Mirando, Ajith Allirajah, Harin De Silva Wijeyaratne, Rohitha Thilakaratne, Chula De Alwis, Shehan Fernando, Nandi Anthony. (Coach: Fairlie Dalpathado). (Absent: Jivaka Candappa, Jonathan Alles, Rohan Weerakkody).

SPC…….Senarath Seneviratne, Heshan De Silva, Shafeek Rahim, Rohan Paulpillai, Riyaz Farcy, Royce Buultjens, Ranmore Martinesz, Hareen Marcelline, Dilrukshan Fonseka, David Joachim, Sudath Kuruppu, Dr Rukshan Bellana, Nishantha De Silva, Suharshie Fernando.

(Coach: Dr HIK Fernando). (Absent: Sean Nugera, Suresh Sebastian).

Courtesy: Ceylon Daily News

For the fifth successive year the Soccer Advisory Committee of St Joseph's College has organized the "Josephian Futsal Soccer Carnival" today, November 1, from 8 am onwards at the college ground. This soccer extravaganza has now turned out to be a very eagerly anticipated calendar event of St Joseph's College. The positive feedback and popularity of the last soccer carnivals has encouraged the organizers to make it an even better football experience for everyone this year. The uniqueness in this soccer carnival is that it reaches out to all the different dimensions possible to provide a learning, rewarding and most importantly entertaining experience to all those who take part.

Ably supported by the Rector of St Josephs, Rev Fr Sylvester Ranasinghe, an indefatigable organizational team lead by a well known football maestro, Balendra Anthony is the brains and brawn behind this successful event. The organizers have expended this event into a truly national sporting event with more than 45 schools from all nine provinces participating this year. There will be schools from the West (St Joseph's, St Peter's, St Benedict's, S Thomas', Royal College, etc), North (St Henry's Illavalai), South (St Aloysius College, Devananda College etc), East (St Joseph's College, Anuradhapura), Central Region (Kingswood College, St Anthony's College, Katugastota, Dharmaraja, Kandy etc) as well as International Schools (CIS, British School, Gateway International, Lyceum etc)

The tournament will be held for six age groups starting from the Under 10s to all the way up to the Under 19s with a mammoth 1500 players expected to participate. Cup, Plate, Bowl and Saucer trophies will be awarded in the Under 13, 15, 17 and 19 age groups. Under 19 teams will play out for the Rev Fr Sylvester Ranasinghe Challenge Trophy. St Joseph's College, Colombo have won this coveted trophy for the last two years. All the participants in the Under 10 and 11 age groups will receive medals and the organizers have taken this step to encourage the kids considering the main focus of this endeavour is the grass root level search for talent as this in fact would be the perfect stepping stone for young and talented soccerites to shine. This would directly contribute to the development of the sport in Sri Lanka. The event is endorsed by the Sri Lankan Schools Football Federation and is held with the blessings of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka. Ranjith Rodrigo, President, FFSL will be the Chief Guest and Upali Hewage DIG (ex), Secretary General, FFSL along with Robert Pieris, Patron, Renown Sports Club will be the Guests of Honour, Mrs Sanjeevani R De Silva, Head of Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank will be the Chief Guest at the Opening Ceremony at 8.00 am. Credit should go to Renown SC one of the leading football club's in Sri Lanka and their Patron Crispin Pieris for coming forward to sponsor this event this year as well which will surely help to unearth future stars of Sri Lankan football. The other main sponsor is Special Blossom.com the leading web content developer. Standard Chartered Bank and Cargills (Ceylon) PLC are the other sponsors for this event. MBC Networks is the Media Partner for the eve The event has been great crowd puller for the past four years and +0+a large spectator turnout is expected. –