OVER 180 secondary students from eight schools will battle from today in the Diamond Mineral Water Schools League Championships that open with pomp and ceremony, complete with march past at the National Park.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Pulandar Kandhi, will take the salute at the march past of participating teams from 13:00 h.

The league will feature age grade teams in three categories - Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 from Tutorial High, South Ruimveldt Secondary, Dolphin Secondary, St George’s High, St John’s College, New Campbellville Secondary and Annandale Secondary.

Dolphin and Annandale will clash in the Under-16 championship Schools and South Ruimveldt will join the other two schools in the Under-18 Championship. Both of these championships will be played as full contact rugby.

Six schools will compete in the Under-14 Championship which will be played as tag rugby, without tackling. They are Dolphin, St George’s, St John’s, Charlestown, Campbellville and Tutorial.

The league fixtures will feature four ten-a-side games each Saturday from 13:30 h and the winners will be decided on a points system.

A Diamond Mineral Water Championship lien trophy and runner-up Trophy will be awarded in each category and medals to each player of the champion teams.

Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) said the league was a “culmination of the efforts” of its Professional Coaching Programme that was introduced into the school system four years ago, reaching 14 schools so far.

“The Schools Rugby Development Programme is coordinated by the Union’s vice-president, Noel Adonis and is supported through funds from the International Rugby Board’s annual Trust Grant to the Union which pays the salaries for the three full-time professional Coaches employed by the Union, all of whom are Guyanese trained to Level 1 and Level 2 coaching status.”

According to GRFU, the Schools Programme has successfully produced the National Under-18 team and Guyana have won the West Indies Under-18 Championships for the last two years.

Guyana will be defending the Championship at the North American & West Indies Rugby Association Under-19 World Cup Qualifier and Under-18 West Indies Championships billed for Jamaica, July 17-24.

The GRFU disclosed that DDL’s Diamond Mineral Water has supported the Union’s Schools Development Programme from the outset and has made the League possible by providing playing uniforms, trophies and medals, and logistical support for the tournament.

Several dignitaries have been invited by the GRFU to the opening ceremony, including Minister of Sport Gail Teixeira, Chairman of the National Sports Commission Laurie Lewis and Director of Sport Neil Kumar.

Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force Brigadier Edward Collins has also been invited, along with Chief Education Officer Ed Caesar and other Senior Education Officers, President of the Guyana Teachers Union Avril Crawford, the headmasters and mistresses of all of the participating schools, parents of the players, representatives of the Diplomatic community and representatives of Private Sector companies who have given their support to the development of rugby.