Kingswood Touch Rugby 7’s Celebrates 10 Years

The Old Boys Association (OBA) in Australia of Kingswood College Kandy, is once again organizing their annual flagship event; ‘Kingswood Touch Rugby 7’s’ tournament to be held on 22nd September 2018, at the Box Hill Rugby grounds.

This year will be an important milestone as well for the OBA, as it will be the 10th year anniversary of this event in Melbourne. Last year’s event had eighteen teams and over one thousand spectators from a wide cross-section.  This year the organizers expect to have twenty teams and over two thousand spectators. The event will feature past pupils from Melbourne based Sri Lankan school associations and clubs.

Kingswood Old Boys’ Association (OBA) Australia was formed in 2007, with the main objective of continuing and strengthening relationships among past Kingswoodians residing throughout Australia. The event is also to cherish and maintain values of Kingswood and to build and provision funding to the alma mater for its own betterment and continuation. And more importantly to fund charitable projects that help under privileged children in Sri Lanka.

The OBA said; “As old boys of Kingswood College Kandy we are very much dedicated to bear the responsibilities lying upon us as well as carry the effects of the values and ethos of the School. We will continually operate in line with our values to pursuit the best outcome for the community by carrying the great legacy set over 127 years ago by our founder; Principal Mr L.E Blaz”.

The tournament is the first ever touch rugby 7s tournament among the Sri Lankan community in Australia which was 1st played in 2009, and arguably the largest sporting event organized by a Sri Lankan Association/Club based in Australia which invites both school and club-level participation. The annual Rugby 7s has since emerged as one of the most popular and looked-forward to events been the highlight of Melbourne and its suburbs, has now spread on to attract international and interstate interest. A team from New Zealand were amongst last year’s participants and a team is expected from Adelaide this year.

In its nine year history, the event has proven to be a cherished opportunity to build and renew relations with members of the community and to relax on a worthy day out with friends and family. All efforts are made to continually improve what the participant has on offer and to make the tournament professional and enjoyable for all teams and fans. Among the organization’s larger focuses in hosting the tournament are the value placed on healthy competition, good sportsmanship and warm friendship.

The tournament will be contested under four segments: as Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield championships. There will be qualified referees along with the presence of representatives of Box Hill Rugby Union. There will be Awards which include trophies for the best player and the winning teams

In addition, as it is a special year for the Australia Kingswood OBA, there will be a launch party to celebrate the 10 years of Rugby 7’s and to pay tribute to everyone who has helped throughout.

Kingswood College Kandy

Kingswood College, Sri Lanka was established on the 4th of May1891 by the famous Ceylonese educationist Louis Edmund Blaze as a private boys’ school of the Methodist tradition. In 1894 the school was formally placed under a Board of Management of the Methodist Mission. Blaze himself was an experimentalist and believed in an education system that superseded the popular examination-oriented culture of the time. He addressed his boys as ‘gentlemen’ with the hope of instilling in them a sense of responsibility and dignity from a young age. Kingswood pioneered rugby football in Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) by adopting the game in 1891. The school was also a pioneer in the Ceylonese cadet corps and 79 Kingswood boys enlisted on behalf of the Crown in combat duties during World War (i). In an experiment that was scoffed at during the day, Blaze enrolled lady teachers in his all-boys’ school – a radical first for Ceylon at the turn of the last century.