Old Trinitians Sports Club (OTSC), under the presidency of Lakmal Tennekoon a ruggerite for the school, Kandy SC and OTSC with the backing of his committee and old boys are all out to give a big hand for sports. At one time they played rugby the sport was introduced by Maurice Perera and a few others to the OTSC, which went places in the sport The present committee is keen in giving a fillip for rugger,cricket, hockey and tennis.
The club is housed in the picturesque environs of Asgiriya with sylvan surroundings reminiscent of an English cricket club. For this club house the man who did the entire spade work was late H.M. Halimdeen who also promoted all sports. It must be remembered that during the presidency of Bimal Fernando, women’s football too was introduced and matches played.
Harindra Dunuwille one of the finest cricketers to come out of Trinity College, told me that the original idea to establish the OTSC came from A.G.G.Perera, a loyal old boy, educationist and sportsman, who on May 6, 1978 had requested the then Principal, Dr. W.G. Wickremasinghe to look into the possibilities of forming a club. His intentions were mainly to give the present boys an opportunity to take part in sports at a higher level and gain experience and also for those who do not have the opportunity to join another club to continue with their cricket after leaving school.
According to Harindra Dunuwille the initial response from the old boys had been poor as manyt hought that this might bring a rift with the central OBA. However, after much discussion at various levels, Harindra Dunuwillle tabled a letter from A.G.G. Perara at a committee meeting of the OBA on September 3, 1979 requesting the formation of the club and it was decided to place this proposal at theAnnual General Meeting. This proposal was unanimously accepted at the Annual General Meeting held on July 19, 1980 and the Old Trinitians Sports Club was formally inaugurated with A.G.G. Perera as the first president and the former principal Col. Leonard de Alwis as the secretary, with 53 members elected as founder members.
In their first year the OTSC had been rather inactive since the membership fees and finances were insufficient and there was no permanent place for club activities. In 1981,under Dr. S.B. Ellepola’s presidency with Keerthi Ratnayake as secretary, a team was entered for the Daily News Trophy Cricket Tournament with Deva Amunugama doing the needful from the pavilion. This tournament was conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket. The expenses for the season were covered through the profits made from a dance sponsored by Colombo Paints Ltd. In 1982,H.M. Halimdeen came in as president, with S.. Blok as the secretary. During this period the club came into luck’s way with the transformation of Asgiriya as aTest venue. The President, Board of Control for Cricket, Old Trinitian, Gamini Dissanayake was also the President Trinity OBU.
H.M Halimdeen realized that there was an opportunity of having a club house ideally located near the new stadium. Through the blessing of OBA President, Gamini Dissanayake, who was the chairman of the Asgiriya ground project, the OTSC was able to purchase an old government building for the club premises and with this acquisition the club came into being. A new constitution was enacted and the club was given the same status as a branch organization. A large number of Old Boys rallied round and gave the much needed encouragement and support to the club. The OTSC building came through the generous support coming from Old Trinitian, Niel Wijesuriya, who came forward and built the magnificent club house So, it is very heartening to hear the good news that the Old Trinitians Sports Club is to take part in all major sports in the near future.
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