Sports Events in Kandy
RUGBY
Rugby
is said to be a game ruffians played by gentlemen. This however, can fall by
the wayside in a heated scrum or tackle, when players' skill, stamina and
physical ability are put to the test. Sri Lanka having a few professional
rugby clubs spread around the country, this sport is popular among school
and local club sides. International sides come down to Sri Lanka in order
to participate in tournaments organized by the local authority.
Rugby Season starts in April, in both schools and clubs, the champions are selected on a league basis. However, Sri Lanka has now achieved the international standards.
This year the Rugby 7's International Tournament was held in September 2003. Organizers confirm that this tournament is going to be an annual event. The rugby sevens are not played in the capital, Colombo, but in the beautiful city of Kandy, not far away from Villa Rosa in Asgiriya, in the middle of the island, surrounded by beautiful hills.
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CRICKET
Cricket
is the more popular sport than all others in this part of the country.
Yearly tournaments are organized in
Club and School levels and the champions are selected on a league basis.
Since winning the
Cricket World Cup in 1996 Sri Lanka has become more popular in many
countries. Kandy being an
International Cricket Venue attracts the foreigners not only towards the
game but also to explore the beauty it's surrounded with.
Kandy,
hill capital, picturesquely surrounded by mountain chains, lakes and rivers.
Its attractions include Dalada Maligawa, shrine of the Sacred Tooth Relic of
the Buddha. The Lankatilleke, Gadaladeniya, Degaldoruwa, Medawela and
Embekke temples in Kandy's suburbs are adorned with typical highland
architecture, sculpture, painting and woodcarving.
Schedule of International Cricket in Kandy for 2003:
December 10-14 2nd Test Match in Kandy
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GOLF
The newest addition to the island's golf courses is the Victoria Golf Course. Located on a 207 hectare site with a 8 km waterfront it overlooks the panoramic Victoria Reservoir.
Victoria Golf & Country Resort - Sri Lanka: This course is 6'190 m long (par 73) a championship golf course designed by Donald Steel and inaugurated early in 1999. The fairways are rather narrow in a hilly country side. Stately trees and avenues of coconuts lend the course an immediate air maturity. Impressive natural outcrops of rocks are a distinctive feature and indeed a hazard of the course.
Describing the Victoria Golf Course Golf Architect, Donald Steel says "Some golf courses have a splendid undulating terrain over which the holes are routed. Some golf courses have a scenic back drop of hills and lakes which excite the senses. However the Victoria Golf Course near Kandy is blessed with both attributes."
One of the most exhilarating and difficult holes at Victoria is the 473 yards Par 4, Seventh. The drive from an elevated tee call for distance, accuracy and nerves of steel, if the player is to have a chance of reaching the green in two.
Measuring 6879 yards at its full Championship length, Victoria's Par 73
layout has four Par 5 holes of which three are over 500 yards long. There are
four excellent Par 3 holes ranging from the very short, but tricky 5th of
124 yards to the testing 210 yards 13th hole, a great Par 3 by any standard.
When it opened recently, Victoria was the first new course in Sri Lanka for more than 100 years and is one of only three courses in the country.
Year 2003 Schedule
The fifth annual Sri Lankan Golf Classic took place from October 29th to November 3rd, 2003 which attracted amateur competitors from 13 countries in Asia and Europe.
The four-day event’s top battle was for the best Nett Stableford score over two rounds. Competitions for golfers over 50 and under 18 were on the program.
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