History

History of the Department

The University of Peradeniya is one of the oldest universities in Sri Lanka. The value of sports is very well understood by the university authority and from its inception, sports, and physical education have been placed in a parallel and equal standing comparative to academic activities. In 1940s, there was only one university in Sri Lanka, University of Ceylon and from that time onwards, sports & recreational activities were considered as an essential component in university education.

Therefore, the Department of Physical Education has been developed gradually adding the most modern & most picturesque sports venues and state–of–the–art equipment. The annual reports of University of Peradeniya during the period from 1948-50 indicate that athletics, swimming, tennis and badminton were the prominent sports. Some of these athletes excelled at the national tournaments too.

In 1952, athletics, boxing, cricket, tennis, hockey and carom became the key sports. The acquisition of a cinder track in 1953 was a big boost for the university athletes.

Furthermore, the existing large gymnasium was donated by the Asian Foundation in 1957.

In 1998, the   Ministry of Sports donated a 50-meter swimming pool and parquet floor for the gymnasium to the University together with other fitness training equipment.

Mr. Brant Little, a British, was the first Director of Physical Education at the University of Ceylon and he was directly involved in students’ sports activities.

In 1959, Mr. Leslie Handunge became the first Sri Lankan Director of Physical Education at University of Peradeniya. From that year onwards, sports & recreational activities at the University of Peradeniya were organized and conducted by several Directors of Physical Education together with several Instructors in Physical Education.