A Royal-Thomian is never short of rivalry. The 3rd oldest encounter in the Royal-Thomian rivalry, ‘the regatta’ will unfold as the big guns in the rowing fraternity, Royal College and S.Thomas’ College take on each other in the 48th encounter, this Saturday, 28th October 2017, over the waters of the Colombo Rowing Club.
It all begun in 1962 as the Royal-Thomian ‘Boat Race’, a single race rowed at the traditional Beira Lake for the coveted ‘Crossed Oars Trophy’. Later in 1966, it evolved into the fully-fledged Royal-Thomian regatta, battling for the overall T. Noel Fernando Memorial Trophy. Ever since, fleets of Royal College and S.Thomas’ College have taken to the Beira Lake to sink, or to be sunk in an epic clash of spirit and grit.
The Royal-Thomian makes its mark in the history books as the oldest regatta in the school’s community and the second oldest regatta in the island. The ‘Boat Race’ is still considered the most prestigious race of the regatta.
The regatta comprises of a total of 11 races, 8 of which add to the overall tally of 52 points. The races are rowed over a course of 1000 yards.
| RACE | POINTS |
| Senior Fours (A Four) | 12 Points |
| Junior Fours (B Four) | 8 Points |
| Junior B Fours (C Four) | – |
| Under 16 Fours | – |
| Old Boys Fours | – |
| Senior Sculls (A Scull) | 6 Points |
| Junior Sculls (B Scull) | 2 Points |
| Senior Pairs (A Pair) | 8 Points |
| Junior Pairs (B Pair) | 4 Points |
| Senior Double Sculls (A Double Scull) | 8 Points |
| Junior Double Sculls (B Double Scull) | 4 Points |
The overall tally for the T. Noel Fernando Memorial Trophy is in favour of S.Thomas’ College (21) as opposed to Royal College (17).
In 2016, the Royalists led by Kaveen Rajapakshe clinched the title winning 50 points to 2. This year, the Royal crew is skippered by Hashen Hettigoda and will head into the regatta with a two-year winning streak.
The Royalists are facing this year’s edition of regatta after winning several major titles this season, defeating Colombo Rowing Club at the Ranfer sprints regatta and also bagging several Rowing Club trophies such as the Herman Sirimanne, V.A Julis RCYC, and the Gordan Armstrong. Royal College will be coached by Mohammed Rifath and Lahiru Herath.
The Thomian crew led by Arjun Wickramanayake will look to bring back some silver to Mount Lavinia this year, after a drought of two years.
The Thomian outfit has been molded together by coaches Mark Maurice and Anuradha Nadaraja. Both Royal and S.Thomas’ have well balanced crews and the regatta will be expected to go down with an equal fight from both schools.
Head down to the Colombo Rowing Club on 28th October 2017, 12.30 pm for a thrilling evening of friendly rivalry.
ThePapare.com will take the prestigious event across the globe via live stream.
>> WATCH LIVE HERE ROYAL-THOMIAN REGATTA <<
