56 teams for All-Island U-18 Hockey Tourney

By Susil Premalal   
The All-Island Inter-Schools Under-18 Boys’ and Girls’ Hockey Tournament will begin today at the Albert F. Peiris Stadium in Wennappuwa, commencing at 8.30 a.m.   
This is the first time in six years that a major school hockey tournament is held at this venue and the finals are scheduled for December 31.   
A total of 56 leading schools in the country will compete in this tournament. The Boys’ and Girls’ Division One Tournament will be conducted under four groups on a league basis while the Division Two Tournament will be conducted under two groups.   A total of 24 teams will be vying for honours in the Boys’ Division One Tournament while 10 teams will compete in the Division Two Tournament. A total of 21 teams will participate in the Division One Girls’ Tournament.   
All leading schools from Colombo, Kalutara, Gampaha, Galle, Matara, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Kegalle, Kandy and Matale Districts are set to participate in this tournament, which will be conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Hockey Association in collaboration with St. Joseph Vaz College, Holy Family Convent, Wennappuwa and Wennappuwa Hockey Association.