Puneet Varma (Editor)

Lipton Invitational Cup

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The Lipton Juniors Invitational Cup was a sports league for high schools in the Philippines which started in 2000 with six schools participating, namely Ateneo, San Beda, La Salle Greenhills, Letran, Mapua Institute of Technology and the University Santo Tomas. It aimed to provide competition for schools in the sport of Basketball, Volleyball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Chess, Track and Field, Football and Taekwondo during summer. It was used by high schools as a preseason preparation for their participation in their home leagues. The games are usually held in the campuses of Ateneo and La Salle Greenhills or in the Rizal Sports Centre.

When the League started in 2000, participating teams competed in only 3 sports namely, Basketball, Volleyball and Swimming. The following year, Badminton, Lawn Tennis and Table Tennis were added to the list of sporting events. Also membership increased to eight teams as De La Salle Zobel and Adamson University joined the league. In 2003, National University, University of the East, San Sebastian College and Philippine Christian University also joined the league. On its fourth year, the organizers further increased the number of sporting events by adding Chess, Track and Field, Football and Taekwondo.

The league continued to grow in popularity as applications were received not only from Metro Manila schools but also from provincial schools. With this growth in popularity, screening of applicant schools became more rigid. The league organizers checked if the applicant school has a good sports program. A rule that a school should join at least 6 out of the 10 sporting events of the league was strictly enforced.

In 2005, the league experienced its first membership loss when La Salle Greenhills, Mapua and Adamson withdrew. The following year two more schools withdrew their membership, namely University of the East and National University. This was partly offset by the entry of the University of the Philippines to the league.

The Lipton Juniors Invitational Cup is now a dormant league.

References

Lipton Invitational Cup Wikipedia