The 18th edition of the Blue and Gold Hockey Sevens organized by Royal College, Colombo in collaboration with the Royal College Hockey Club (RCHC) will take place on August 12 and 13 from 8.00am onwards at the Royal College main grounds at Reid Avenue.
The tournament is held for the first time since 2019 as Covid pandemic followed by economic crisis prevented the organizers from having the annual event in the last three years.
The tournament provides the young and energetic players coming from diverse backgrounds with the unique opportunity and exposure of displaying their skills and talents in an arena that has not only caught the limelight in the hockey fraternity of the nation but is also an eye-catching attraction on the schools’ sports calendar in Sri Lanka.
The event will see record high number of 66 schools participating in both boys’ and girls’ categories.
The first edition of the Blue & Gold Hockey 7’s took place in 1992 with a participation of only 16 boys’ schools. Despite the success of the tournament, the continuation was constrained due to funding limitations.
However, after a lapse of ten years, the tournament was recommenced in 2002 and brought to action on a very grand scale with tremendous commitment by the office bearers of the Royal College Hockey Club.
Since its recommencement, the tournament has witnessed outstanding progress and has become a trendsetter in improving, developing, and evolving the game of hockey in Sri Lanka.
Dharmaraja College emerged victorious in the Boys category under the Cup Championship when the tournament was held last time in 2019, while Seethadevi Balika clinched the Cup Championship in the Girls category.
Top notch school hockey teams Alocious College Galle, Kingswood College, Kandy, Zahira College Matale, St. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia and Matale, Ananda College, Colombo along with the hosts Royal will be in the fore front to win the title for this year in the boys category, while eight-time champions Seethadevi Kandy and Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya, Kotte are expected to give their best in the girls category.