The Elective Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL) was held earlier today at the Diyawanna Rowing Centre as the new office bearers of the ARASL were installed for the year 2021.
The meeting commenced as outgoing President, Mr. Rohan Fernando, recollected the achievements and milestones that Sri Lanka Rowing accomplished during his tenure, and went on to appreciate the unconditional support he got from his committee members and the rowing fraternity. During his tenure, Sri Lanka won the first silver and bronze medals for the sport at Asian level, and then developed the Diyawanna Rowing Centre with a state of the art 2KM international racing track. Under his leadership ARASL was able to arrange for the arrival of FISA trainers in order to uplift national coaching standards and get them international accreditation.
As per the rules and regulations of the Ministry of Sports, the ARASL formed the Independent Election Committee and appointed the following individuals: Maj General (Rtd.) Palitha Fernando (Chairman), Mr. Anura De Silva and Mr. Senaka De Saram.
Whilst the outgoing President gets the ‘Committee Member’ position by default, the main roles of President, Vice President along with the Secretary, Asst. Secretary, Treasurer and Asst. Treasurer were the posts to be filled. Thus, Mr. Dimuth Gunawardena assumed duties as the new President, whilst Mr. Sithira Wikramasekara took on responsibilities as VP.
Expressing his gratitude towards his predecessor, Mr. Gunawardena presented a token of appreciation to Mr. Fernando as he shared his future plans on the development of Rowing in the country. He went on to stress on the fact that since the new “Sports Minister Hon. Namal Rajapaksha used to be an oarsman and knows the sport and its requirements, he is very supportive”. According to Mr. Gunawardena, his team’s main goal is to see Sri Lanka win a Gold Medal at the 2022 Asian Games, and for this to become a reality, arrangements will be made for training to start as early as possible next year. They will also hopefully organize the National Regattas within that time period.
Furthermore, he stated that “ARASL has plans to commence Coastal Rowing and introduce the sport to two rural areas within the next two years, and make DRC and DRA two state of the art rowing centers in South Asia.”
Addressing the media, outgoing President Mr. Rohan Fernando stated that “if not for COVID-19, Rowing would have attracted more people within the society”. Moreover, he added that “unlike Cricket where the gentlemanlike touch vanished for money and politics, Rowing is fueled with passion”. Finally, when asked if the Sports Ministry would be of any help to the sport, Mr. Fernando spoke highly of the new Sports Minister and went onto state that “Hon. Namal Rajapaksha’s vision is why I accepted his invitation to join the National Sports Council without any hesitation”.
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 of the Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL) was held earlier today at the Diyawanna Rowing Centre as the new office bearers of the ARASL were installed for the year 2021.){kind=link}