The annual East Coast Cricket Festival was held last Saturday in New Jersey, USA with the participation of old boys’ teams representing Ananda, Nalanda, Royal, St. Thomas’, Trinity, St Joseph’s, Maris Stella, St. Peter’s, Mahanama, and Thurstan. H.E. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States, and the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York Ambassador Jayantha Jayasuriya joined several hundred expats for an entertaining day of cricket and much more on a day of gorgeous early summer weather.
The Sri Lankan Embassy also provided a booth with a mobile consular service that provided easy access to passport, dual-citizenship and visa applications to the attendees.
The spectators were treated to a day of enthralling cricket, fourteen matches in all. Old boys’ teams from Ananda, Royal, Trinity, and Thurstan emerged as semifinalists. In the final, the old Royalists retained the Henry Steel Olcott Challenge Trophy winning a thrilling final against Thurstan by 7 runs.
The East-Coast Cricket Festival is much more than a cricket tournament. While the games take place in the middle, a plethora of activities dot the sidelines serving and entertaining expats from all ages and all walks of life. A special “Kids Area” kept the young tots entertained all day. Vendors provided authentic Sri Lankan food and groceries, and the local band, Sri Beats provided excellent entertainment to the dancing crowd.
Many local charities and organizations participated in the festival. The cultural group, Kalanikethanaya NJ showcased young local talents with traditional dances and drum beats. A group of local students working on eradicating period poverty in Sri Lanka spoke with hundreds of attendees raising over $1000 to support under-resourced girls’ schools in Sri Lanka. In addition, SLMANA, the Sri Lanka Medical Association of North America, has been a regular participant of the festival. This year, their physician volunteered to take various measurements including blood pressure and body mass index measurements and advise community members. Also, in aid of the famed Animal SOS Sri Lanka, a local group of children raised over $3000 at a much-attended booth.
In an effort to create new branches of communication between professionals within the community, experts and enthusiasts across all STEM disciplines—including medicine, science, engineering, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and finance, got together for a mission to break down silos between disciplines and to promote the exchange of cutting-edge knowledge while opening doors to new job opportunities for Sri Lankan professionals.
This year marks the 18th time the Ananda College Old Boys, East-Coast Association organized (ACOBA-EC) the cricket festival. Old Anandians Lasitha Abeysekara and Kheminda Jayawardena once again led a dedicated group of their schoolmates while Dr. Thushara Diyabalanage, an old Rajan, served as the tournament referee.
