3000 athletes vie for honours at John Tarbet Athletic meet from October 13 to 15
The annual Sir John Tarbet Athletic Meets for the year 2014 will kick off on October 13 with its Senior Championship at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Diyagama. The three-day meet which ends on October 15 has drawn over 3000 athletes from all parts of the country as the organisers of the event, the Sri Lanka Schools Athletic Association (SLSAA) hope to comprehensively form a national pool aiming the Asian Youth Games in 2017.
“We, as the SLSAA, aim to go beyond doing just competitions. If we look at the recent past, athletes from schools have performed well at junior level at domestic and international competitions. But when they reach the senior stage, the standards deteriorate, for unknown reasons. Our aim is to make these youngsters more competitive and productive for the benefit of the country,” stated Susantha Fernando, an advisor of SLSAA.
Fernando also stressed that the governing body of schools athletics have drawn plans to develop track and field events with a long term vision. According to the SLSAA official, it has already initiated a three-phase development programme aiming the masters and teachers of schools, the coaches and athletes, beginning from the juvenile stages.
“Despite the setbacks at top level, which are substandard and beyond our control, it’s our duty to make these younger talents, the future medal prospects for Sri Lanka. It might take a bit of time but we have already begun our mission. The Senior and Junior Sir John Tarbet Athletic Meets are the ideal platform to scout potential talents for our immediate vision, which are medals at the Asian Youth Games in 2017. Trainers and athletes will be well educated with up-to-date technical training aiming at that,” he added.
Both events will be sponsored by Ritzbury, the chocolate brand of Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL), for the third consecutive year.
The Junior edition of the Sir John Tarbet Athletic Meet will be held from November 2 to 5 at the Mahaweli ground in Embilipitiya.