‘DSI girl’ puts Sri Lanka on the map

Sri Lanka has got a boost in the worldwide web with the use of a photograph of a happy child at the DSI Supersport Volleyball Championship 2011 coaching camp held in Badulla, in the e-newsletter of Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the governing body responsible for all forms of volleyball on a global level.

In a letter to the President of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation, Dilan Perera, FIVB states that the picture depicting a young girl holding a volleyball representing fun and the enjoyable spirit of the Volley All Festival 2011 was voted the best picture of the year.

“We will use this photo to endorse future documents of the Volley All Festival,” writes Helgi Thorsteinsson, Technical & Development Director FIVB in a letter to the Sri Lanka Federation. Appreciating “the great effort” by the Federation in making the Festival a success, he has informed that the Development Commission has recommended that a special plaque be presented at the next FIVB World Congress.

Working closely with national federations and private enterprises the FIVB aims to develop Volleyball as a major world media and entertainment sport through world-class planning and organisation of competitions, marketing and development activities. The FIVB is part of the Olympic Movement, contributing to the success of the Olympic Games.

A spokesman of DSI said that the DSI Supersport Volleyball Championship is recognised as an important event in the local sporting calendar and the competition is an eagerly awaited event by the schools. The tournament was conducted for the 13th time last year by the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation, the sports unit of the Education Ministry and DSI. Last year saw the highest number of participants in the history of the tournament with over 5000 registered teams from all four corners of the Island.

“DSI Supersport, Sri Lanka’s number one school footwear once again offered a generous sponsorship package to ensure the continuity and success of the tournament. The sponsorship ensures that Sri Lanka volleyball will continue to have an entry point for the youth to have an opportunity to represent the country in the future at its national sport,”, the spokesman added.

Pointing out that DSI is actively involved in the development of volleyball as the most prominent sport in the country, he said that to achieve that level DSI has sponsored school volleyball from 1998 onwards. “We are not merely the sponsor but we play an active role with Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation to uplift Volleyball as the national game,” he said.