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Thursday Dec 12, 2024
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RCGC Colombo Vice-Captain Avancka Herath, IMORICH Brand Manager Kasun Gunaratne, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts Head of Brand Marketing and John Keells Holdings Vice President Dileep Mudadeniya, HSBC Head of Marketing and Communications Tharanga Gunasekera, Schools Golf Development Committee Chairperson Dirk Flamer Caldera, Sri Lanka Golf Union President Priath Fernando, Victoria Golf Club Representative Lalith Ramanayake, NEGC President Maj. Gen. Srinath Rajapakse, OLU Tropical Water CEO Shalindra Fernando, Callaway Golf Sri Lanka Representative Callaway Chandana Weerasinghe and Junior Sub Committee Chairperson and Sri Lanka Golf Union Council Member Niloo Jayatilake
The Sri Lanka Golf Union, the national body for golf in Sri Lanka, together with HSBC has announced the launch of Sri Lanka’s first ever International Junior Golf Championship to be contested between Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
The event, which has been initiated by the Sri Lanka Golf Union (SLGU) Junior Sub Committee, aims to raise the standard of junior Golf in the country by identifying Sri Lanka’s young golf talent and nurturing them for future national and international representation.
The event which will take place at the Royal Colombo Golf Club on 10 August this year, will see teams of six comprised of four boys and two girls taking part. The event will be conducted by the Sri Lanka Golf Union (SLGU) and the format structured on a version of similar team championships played worldwide such as Asia Pacific Golf Team Championship and the Ryder Cup.
“Today we have professional golfers who have made money on Asian pro tours and others who have made careers as teaching professionals. However, whilst golf in Asia has taken a big leap forward, Sri Lanka has unfortunately been left behind. A big gap has formed between our current national player and those in countries that only took to golf relatively recently,” stated SLGU President Priath Fernando at a media briefing on Wednesday.
“The SLGU took a decision to correct this situation about five years ago and decided to put more emphasis on developing our juniors. Golf is a game for the long-term, champions cannot be produced in 5-10 years - even in 10 years we may not have a champion in place. However we made a start and expanded the number of tournaments being played by our juniors from one a year to four per year, including a matchplay event.”
Over the past couple of years the SLGU has proceeded with several initiatives to improve the quality of junior talent in the country. Chief among them are the introduction of junior rankings, sending a junior team to India for the first time ever to play abroad in the All India Junior Open, sending juniors to play in Vietnam earlier this year, as well as conducting several special golf training sessions for juniors both locally and abroad.
“To move on to the next level, SLGU is happy to work with HSBC to present the HSBC Sri Lanka International Junior Golf Championship. This is definitely a historic landmark,” added Fernando.
HSBC is a major promoter of Golf worldwide and will be the title sponsor of the championship. The bank boasts of sponsoring the most prestigious of global golf championships such as HSBC WGC Golf Championships in Shanghai, HSBC Women’s Championship in Singapore and the Open in UK to name a few.
HSBC conducts grass root golf programs to popularise the sport in many countries from UK, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi. Furthermore, the bank has organised two popular golf tournaments in Sri Lanka, the HSBC 5 Club Golf Tournament (22nd consecutive year) and HSBC Premier Golf Championship (fifth consecutive year). Tharanga Gunasekera, Head of Marketing and Communications HSBC said: “Golf is supported globally by HSBC and as a long standing supporter of the game, our ambition is to open up the game of golf in Sri Lanka. With our partnership with the national body of golf, the SLGU, HSBC is delighted to be part of the inaugural Sri Lanka Junior International Golf Championships on our 125th year anniversary in Sri Lanka which was on 1 July.” Preceding the main international golf championship, HSBC will partner the SLGU to conduct the first-ever ‘HSBC Future Lions Golf grass root program,’ which is open to kids aged between eight and 13 years throughout Sri Lanka. This ‘open day’ golf event is scheduled between the 1st and 5th of August and spread over four locations namely Nuwara-Eliya, Kandy, Anuradhapura and Welisara (Navy Aqua range) in 2017 and will see further expansion in the years to come. All current junior golfers in the country will also have the opportunity to participate in the HSBC Junior Golf Championship, an individual event to be held on 9 August at the RCGC. This will be based on four age groups: 15-18+ years (Gold Division), 12 14+ years (Silver Division), 10 11+ years (Bronze Division) and 9 years and under (Copper Division).The HSBC Junior International Golf championship is further supported by several prestigious partners. Cinnamon Life is the hospitality partner for the event and will host all the international teams. MAS Kreeda is the Apparel partner who will provide sportswear for the grass root program.
Speaking on the sponsorship, MAS Kreeda CEO/Managing Director Sarinda Unamboowe said in a release: “MAS Kreeda is happy to be a part of the HSBC Sri Lanka International Junior Golf Championship 2017. We are also excited at the prospect of partnering the Sri Lanka Golf Union in their spirited effort to make the sport more accessible at grassroots level by conducting Open Days for children at golf courses across the country. I would like to wish the SLGU all the very best in this exciting endeavour.”
IMORICH from Elephant House, the indulgence partner, plans to introduce their latest premium ice cream range during the event. “IMORICH as the premium ice cream brand in Sri Lanka is happy to partner with the Sri Lanka Golf Union and sees this as an ideal platform to take IMORICH to next level,” said Elephant House in a release.
Olu water is the official beverage partner. “OLU Tropical Water is extremely happy to partner the Sri Lanka International Junior Golf Championship. OLU Tropical Water is a unique brand of natural mineral water originating from the cloud forests of Sri Lanka. Its source is a certified natural mineral source hence the water is pure and distinct, perfect for drinking just the way nature intended it to be. We hope the junior golfers have a great tournament with OLU Water keeping them hydrated and fresh,” stated CEO OLU Tropical Water Shalindra Fernando.
Renowned golf brand Callaway Golf is the equipment sponsor. Chandana Weerasinghe representative for Callaway Golf in Sri Lanka, commented: “Callaway Golf is the world’s largest maker of premium, performance golf products. Under the Callaway and Odyssey brands, Callaway manufactures and sells golf clubs, golf balls, golf apparel, footwear and accessories in more than 110 countries worldwide. Callaway golf is happy to be part of the inaugural HSBC International Junior Golf Championship promoted by the Sri Lanka Golf Union.”
To register and for more information, all schools and parents can call Duminda on 0714-327343 (SLGU Hotline). HSBC Premier Clients can register by contacting their respective relationship managers.
