‘HIRING’ ATHLETES FOR ISAC IS NEW TREND

Absorbing champion athletes from government schools by granting them scholarships and various other benefits with the prime intention of increasing the medal count at the International Schools Athletic Championship (ISAC), has been a much discussed topic in the ongoing ISAC 2017, as Lyceum International School Wattala took an early lead with a mammoth points margin from day one with medals from their new imports.

According to a reliable source, Lyceum Wattala had absorbed as many as 32 new athletes, all of them proven athletes in the local schools athletics arena from various government schools last year. Lyceum Nugegoda too had absorbed many new athletes – a large number of them from Lumbini Vidyalaya Colombo – where they even had special talent scouting during last year’s local athletic championship with the aim of head hunting proven athletes to their school to have ISAC glory this year.

For example, Malinda Maduranga who won the boys under-19 800m and Gayan Bandara who set a new meet record in the boys under-20 800m representing Lyceum Wattala, were students of Nalanda Central College Minuwangoda until last year. Lahiru Krishan who won the 800 m boys under-17 for Lyceum Wattala too is an athlete who joined the school just this year.

Dewmini Kudavithanage who won the girls under-19 800m, was a student of St. Joseph’s BV Grandpass till end of last year, while Divyanjali Gunawardene who won the girls under-20 800m too is a new student. Dilmi Dahanayake who won the girls under-17 200m was a double gold medalist at the All Island school games last year representing a Colombo based government school.

Chamindu Prabath and Mohammad Aroos who won silver and bronze medals in the boys under-19 200m were Lumbini College athletes until last year where they won a number of medals for Lumbini. Both first and second placed runners in the girls under-20 200m were from Good Shepherd Convent Kotahena, while the under-20 boys long jump winner who set a new meet record, is from a school in Kandana. The boys under-20 javelin throw winner is from St. Sebastian’s College Kandana. These are just a few names out of a large number of imported athletes in the ongoing championship

hese champion government school athletes have given Lyceum (Wattala and Nugegoda) a very unfair advantage, as it is the only leading international school with local syllabus classes along with London syllabus, which makes it very easy for them to take any athlete they want from any school, whereas all other leading international schools have only London syllabus.

Also, according to the source, they are using a loophole in the tournament rules to their advantage, as there is no mention of any specific time limitation for athletes to be in one particular school once they are transferred from a government school to an international school. In contrast when an athlete changes from one international school to another international school he/she has to be at least six months in that particular school to represent them in ISAC.