7, Kirimandala Mawatha, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka | Senior School : +94 112 512 275 | Junior School : +94 112 589 984

Sports

We believe sport should play a big part in every child’s life. Sport is central in developing character and teaching teamwork and leadership skills. Players realise that success comes through practice so learn the importance of self-discipline and consistent dedication. Students become used to an active lifestyle so maintain this when they are older. Above all, students create memories that will stay with them the rest of their life - the winning penalty, the crucial wicket - and experience being part of a team with their peers. All students are encouraged to be fit and healthy. Children begin PE lessons aged 2 ½ in Early Learners and start learning to swim in KG1; most Junior School students are in at least one sports squad. Students continue to have PE lessons until Form 3, while all Senior School students take at least one active club (either a sport or dance), throughout the school. Senior Squads practise three times per week, in addition to playing regular matches.

As a relatively small school, we are able to give all students the opportunity to enjoy sport and improve their skills. There are squads at Junior, Middle School and Senior level in all our main team sports for both boys and girls. Students take part in regular tournaments, including annual Inter-International Schools’ competitions at all age levels, where they compete against the other 22 TISSL schools, and COMBOS tournaments, in which five international schools of a similar size participate in a more informal setting. Students enjoy playing against other schools while the competition pushes them to develop their skills. There are also Inter-House competitions in all sports at both the Junior and Senior School, which are fiercely contested and enthusiastically supported.

Students benefit from expert coaching. Our football teams have always had expatriate coaches: one of our current coaches joined from the Tottenham Global Development programme; the other plays in the Sri Lanka Super League. Our current basketball coach plays for Sri Lanka and played NAIA Basketball in the USA. Our cricket team was formerly coached by Sri Lankan great and national coach Rumesh Ratnayake.

There are regular overseas trips for our sports teams. In 2025, both our boys’ and girls’ football teams took part in the Bangkok International Youth Football Festival and toured the UK, where they practised at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Ground, played local teams and watched a Champions League game.

Football

Elizabeth Moir School has earned a reputation as one of the best schools for football in the country over the past thirty years, and this success has made football one of our most popular sports for both boys and girls. As the only school in the entire country with an all-weather artificial pitch, our players are able to train throughout the year, even in the rainy season.

Our girls are the reigning Inter-International Schools’ Champions at under-16, under-18 and under-20 level. Our senior team is one of the best women’s teams in the country: they regularly play adult teams and recently defeated Colombo University and Sri Lanka Police. They have won the last five Inter-International Schools’ tournaments and not lost a game to a Sri Lankan school since before the pandemic.

Our boys’ teams have also won multiple Inter-International Schools’ trophies and reached the final of the under-20 and under-18 tournaments this year. Our teams either won or reached the final in four out of the five age groups in this year’s COMBOS Futsal tournament, from under-10 upwards (the same record as the girls).

Basketball

Basketball is played by both girls and boys throughout the school, both competitively and recreationally, during breaks and other free time in school. Our teams now benefit from perhaps the best facilities in the country, with both an outdoor court and a world-class indoor court, like you would find at a US high school. Under the guidance of Coach Praneeth Udumalagala, perhaps Sri Lanka’s best ever player, our Basketball teams have been amongst the best in the country over the last few years. Our under-17 and under-19 Boys’ teams finished 3rd in their Inter-International Schools’ tournaments for the past two years, playing a fast, passing game that revolutionised school Basketball here, while the under-13 team won their tournament, thanks to an incredible last-second buzzer-beater. Our under-17 girls’ team reached the final of their tournament, after a series of tight matches with gripping finishes. Both our senior girls’ and boys’ teams won this year’s COMBOS tournaments too, with our Junior School boys’ team having won two years running.

Cricket

The cricket team’s annual ‘Big Match’ against a rival international school is one of the highlights of the school year. Players train hard throughout the year to prepare for the game and have the opportunity to play on beautiful pitches at famous grounds in Colombo, like the P Sara Oval. Our team has enjoyed considerable success in the under-17 and under-19 Inter-International Schools’ tournaments in recent years, with impressive victories over almost all our main rivals, including defeating one this year by 239 runs in a 25-over game. They were also runners-up in this year’s COMBOS tournament. With new on-site cricket nets, we can look forward to more success for our cricket team in future.

Swimming

Swimming is one of the most competitive sports in Sri Lanka, with committed swimmers following professional-level training schedules. The main focus of both our Junior and Senior School Swimming Squads is the Inter-International Schools’ Swimming Championship, which is held at Sugathadasa Swimming Pool complex each year. This year, our swimmers won 14 individual medals, as well as medals in 3 relays, an incredible achievement given that they were competing against the best swimmers from schools with over 50,000 students. Two of our students represented Sri Lanka in the 11th Asian Age Group Championships in the Philippines in 2024, with Linara Gunasekera being part of the relay team that won Sri Lanka’s only medal and Okitha Gunasekera missing the national record in 100m Freestyle by just 0.01seconds. In the past, students have represented the school in the Asian Games. With our new 25m Swimming Pool opening in 2026, swimming in school will receive a further boost.

Athletics

Our athletes train regularly throughout the year at both the Junior and Senior School, with expert coaching in both track and field events. This year, our athletes won the most medals at both Junior and Senior COMBOS Athletics, despite being easily the smallest of the four schools taking part. Our current Athletics Captain won gold medals in both her races in the International Schools Athletics Championship at under-16 level.

Other Sports

Badminton, karate and yoga provide further options for Senior School students to have an active and healthy lifestyle. As well as being a fun activity enjoyed by many of our students, our badminton teams take part in tournaments, with our senior boys reaching the semi-final of the Inter-International Schools’ tournament last year. Karate and yoga train the mind as well as the body. As well as developing students’ strength, flexibility and balance, research has shown that they support stress management, mental health, mindfulness and overall health. There is also a pickleball court and table tennis table for students to use during breaks.