Sunday Times 2
Senior citizens pit their wits at all island tournament
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Indrani Atukorale receiving her award from Shaila Amalean
Kumari Goonesekere emerged victorious in the Championship Category, claiming her first-ever All Island title, Wimal Fernando was runner-up and Shaila Amalean was second runner-up at the All Island Senior Citizens’ Tournament 2025, organised by the Sri Lanka Association of Senior Citizens on October 26, at the Hilton Hotel, Colombo.
Zora Wahab triumphed in the Plate Category with Lilanthi Jayaratne emerging runner-up and Muthalif Jabeer second runner-up.
Open to participants aged 55 and above, the All Island Senior Citizens’ Tournament has, for over two decades, showcased the skill, camaraderie and competitive spirit of Sri Lanka’s vibrant senior community.
Kumari Goonesekere receiving her award from Vivimarie VanderPoorten
This year’s tournament featured two competitive categories – Championship and Plate. Players with Scrabble ratings above 550 battled it out in the Championship category while others – both rated and unrated, competed in the Plate division.
The tournament was directed by Raashid Sudin, President of the Scrabble Academy. Tournament officials Ramith Siriwardana and Zainab Sultan also played vital roles in ensuring the day’s success.
Chief guest was award-winning poet Professor Vivimarie Vanderpoorten, a lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka. Tournament Director Raashid Sudin paid tribute to Mrs Indrani Atukorala who had organised the tournament for over 20 years and now in her 90s, continues to inspire, finishing in an impressive 9th place in the Plate Category this year.