Mercantile Athletic Federation (MAF), Sri Lanka

firms. The inaugural Annual General Meeting of the MAF was held on the 21st of September 1982 with the participation of 42 mercantile sector firms.. The inaugural Mercantile Athletic Championship was held on 6th and 7th November 1982 at Shalika Grounds, Colombo with the participation of over 600 athletes both male and female from over 50 mercantile sector firms. The MAF was also the first to introduce veterans (masters) athletics in Sri Lanka in 1985. The MAF accepted an invitation from the Asian Veteran Athletics Association for the 3rd Asian Meet to be held in Singapore and conducted a trial meet for veterans at the Sports Ministry Grounds, selecting 22 veterans for the above meet. With this success the MAF paved the way for the formation of the Sri Lanka Veterans (Masters) Athletic Association. The M.A.F conducted inter league and knock-out tournaments from 1984 to 1990. Over 50 teams from top mercantile firms participated in each tournament over that period. The MAF participated in the 16th Thai Masters Athletic Championships held in Thailand as part of it's first overseas tour from 11th to 13th March, 2011. 17 masters’ athletes participated from 6 member mercantile firms, and won several Gold, Silver and Bronze medals bringing credit to the M.A.F and Sri Lanka. The inaugural MAF Road Race was held on the 8th of August 2012 from Moratuwa to Mount Lavinia and back with over 100 athletes participating. The MAF also launched it's official website www.MercantileAthletics.com on the 8th of August 2012 in the presence of some of Sri Lanka's most distinguished sports personalities.