By Susil Premalal

Volleyball, the national sport of Sri Lanka, received a major fillip during this ongoing pandemic, when Munchee, the flagship brand of Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL), committed to sponsor the National Volleyball Championship for the 13th consecutive year.

The official sponsorship was announced during a press conference at Taj Samudra in the presence of senior management of CBL and representatives of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation (SLVB).

The Munchee National Volleyball Championship which will be conducted in two categories – Super League and Novices for both men and women – will begin on October 16. The closing date of entries for the Novices tournament is October 15.

The Super League comprises of eight men’s teams and six women’s teams. Competing for the men’s Super League are SL Army, SL Air Force, SL Navy, SL Police, NYSC, Ceylon Electricity Board and SL Ports Authority.

Participating in the women’s league are teams from the SL Army, SL Air Force, SL Navy, Ports Authority, Hirdramani SC and Mahauweva Rathanapala SC.

The round robin stage of the Super League will be worked off from November 7 to 11 at the Galle SLVB Indoor Stadium at Dadella. The first round of the Novices tournament will be held from October 15 to November 15. The national level competition will be worked off from November 21 to 22 in Galle.

The finals of both the tournaments will be held on November 28 at NYSC indoor stadium in Maharagama.

The organizers expect over 2,000 entries for the Novices tournament.

The press conference was held under the patronage of Ranjith Siyambalage, President of SLVB and Deputy Speaker of Parliament.