“Trinity owes me nothing and I, like all other Trinitians, owe Trinity a debt that can never be repaid”, echoed the late Lakshman Kadirgamar in his address as Chief Guest at the Prize day in 1992. With this thought in mind a group of past Athletes came together on the 25th of February 2012 in an attempt to give something back to Trinity and to the sport that molded them to be men of strong character.
Awards and Tokens of Gratitude
Through the gracious financial support of over a dozen former Athletes and Old Boys, this group was able to organize a ceremony to fulfill a number of much needed and long overdue initiatives in the presence of the current team and school authorities. The main purpose of this event was to felicitate Trinity’s long standing coach Mr. H.G.Ariyaratne and master in charge Mr. G.R. Dhanapala. They, along with assistant coach Mr. S.A.N.V. Bandara were presented a memento and cash award inrecognition of their outstanding services rendered towards Trinity Athletics for nearly two decades. Addressing the gathering Mr.Ariyaratne stressed on how crucial such initiatives by the Old Boys were towards the development of Trinity Athletics.
The two shields to be awarded in memory of Gihan Bulumulla
Secondly, the group sponsored and handed over skinnys to the athletics team of 2012. This served as an opportunity to motivate the team to continue their good performances and to remind the athletes that the Trinity family was behind them. Thirdly, the Gihan Bulumulla Challenge Shield which came to light through the generous support of Gihan’s close friends was handed over to the Principal. The award is in memory of former Athletics skipper Gihan Bulumulla who succumbed to an illness last year while residing in England and this shield will be awarded to the most outstanding performer at Junior and Senior level at the Inter-House Sports meet.
Skinnys being handed out to the 2012 Athletics Team
The event was a resounding success as the emotions on the three coaches’ faces were testimony of what this event meant to them and to Trinity Athletics. The Principal, Brigadier Ariyaratne in his brief address thanked the “young” Old Boys for taking such an initiative and urged the present Trinity athletes to emulate and further strengthen this cause.
M.I.C. being felicitated and a moment during the event
It has long been felt that sports at Trinity, baring Rugby and Cricket receive little to no support from the Old Boys. Undoubtedly Rugby succeeds in grabbing most of the attention as the sport which is considered a religion at Trinity where those fortunate to don the Red, Gold and Blue jersey are celebrated as demigods, yet we cannot and more importantly should not overlook the pronounced contribution made by other sports as well towards upholding Trinity’s grand identity.
The Event Attendees
The Event Organizers
This initiative to support Trinity Athletics is a small but significant step in the correct direction to eventually setup a foundation to support Trinity Athletics similar to how the Scrummage and the Cricket Foundation have influenced the resounding success of Rugby and Cricket over the years. I am certain that Old Boys from all over the globe will eagerly support such an initiative as it gives everyone an opportunity to give something back to the school that gave us everything.
Respice Finem!
Article Written By Charitha Dumbarage (2005 Senior Prefect of Trinity College)
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