1. By using synthetic court mats,
2. By introducing new rules to the championships such as, it being mandatory, for players qualifying to play from quarterfinal levels onwards, to attire themselves in each match, in a significantly different color from their opponent/s.
3. It is also mandatory for doubles partners to wear similar attire, ie., both t-shirts and shorts, from quarter final levels onwards, also maintaining above 2.
4. Using of court officials from the 1st round of matches onwards.
The organizing committee has made arrangements to:
A. Award Certificates to all players qualifying to play from quarter final levels onwards,
B. Medals to be awarded from semifinals onwards.
C. In addition, highest total prize money ever offered for any local ranking Badminton tournament, which is Rs 750,000/- will be awarded amongst the winners, runners up and semifinalists.
Details of the Championships: Matches will commence at 08.00am on each day. Matches will be conducted at Royal College sports complex and SLB courts. The finals and awards ceremony will be held on 3 November from 4.00 pm onwards at the Royal College Sports Complex.
Minister of Provincial Councils, Local Government & Sports, Faiszer Musthapha will grace the occasion, as the Chief Guest.
TRAINING PROGRAM
SLB has plans to conduct a training program for selected players from all provinces to uplift the standards of provincial players during the National Championships. This will be conducted by Tony Wayudeen, the National Coach.
NATIONAL COACH
With the assistance of the National Institute of Sports Science and the Ministry of Sports, SLB were able to successfully secure a contract with Tony Wayudeen, who is an Indonesian national, as the National Coach. He was previously the Asst. Coach for the senior Badminton team of Indonesia. Prior to that, he served as the senior coach of the Thailand Badminton team.
With his guidance and coaching Sri Lanka players were able to achieve the following: Sachin and Buwaneka came upto semifinals in the Commonwealth Games held in Australia in 2018; Same pair came up to quarterfinals in the Asian Games 2018 held in Indonesia; Dinuka, Thilini and Kavidi came up to quarterfinals in men’s singles and women’s doubles in the Commonwealth Games held in 2018 in Australia.
UPLIFTING BADMINTON
The present committee of the SLB has taken steps to uplift badminton in Sri Lanka by improving the infrastructure of the courts and skills of the players. During the last year SLB concluded the following programs: Continued the National pool training throughout the year, providing them with required accommodation, shuttles and meals; Renovated the court complex by replacing the lights and laying of synthetic carpets on the courts; All tours are pre -planned and players are trained appropriately prior to departure on tours; Periodic meetings are held to evaluate results.
SLB is thankful to the generous sponsorships extended by M/s. Pyramid Wilmar (Pvt).Ltd (Meadowlea) and the equipment supplier M/s. Yonex Sunrise & Company of Singapore.