The Opening Regatta 2019, organized by the Colombo Rowing Club, was successfully held today despite the threat of bad weather. The Regatta saw the participation of the schools crews and the crews of the Colombo Rowing Club and the University of Colombo.
Photos: Colombo Opening Club Opening Regatta
The honours were evenly divided between the competing institutions, with only Ananda College winning two separate events. The Under- 14s put on a good show. Gateway College and Ananda College won the women’s and men’s U-14 sculls respectively.
The Colombo Rowing Club won the U14 Women’s Double Scull, with Royal College winning the men’s.
The Junior Scull event was won by Ladies College, and the University of Colombo bagged first place in the Junior pair.
The Junior Four was a mixed event, won by a crew made up of Anushri Udamulla, Mayurindi Ekanayake, Diana Fernando, Thimaya Dassanayake and Binadi Gamage.
The Gordon Armstrong trophy, which is a scullers’ event, was won by S. Thomas’ College.
The Vanlangenburg Trophy was won by the pair from Ananda College.
The HMS Enterprise, which is a mixed Four race, was won by a crew comprising of Shehan Weerasekera, Maneth Pothupitiya, Nadive Jayathilake, Kavindu Ariyaratne and Vimoda Abeywardene.
The Mixed Four races always provide a novel experience, as four people from different crews- which means different training schedules, different motivations and different methods- are thrown together into a crew and must quickly learn to work together and move the boat.
The morning’s proceedings were somewhat dampened as spectators saw a bank of rain clouds which covered the sky behind the Lotus Tower, and in fact it did rain, though not heavily enough to cause a delay in the smooth running of the regatta. Though the rain wasn’t hard enough to be an issue, the wind and weather meant that the waters of the Beira were choppy and made life a little harder for the oarsmen and women, as they faced a much higher resistance than usual.
Also Read: LC – Thora dominate Junior Rowing; Navy bag double
The annual Opening Regatta is held to mark the opening of the regatta season, and if today’s regatta is anything to go by, the rowing community is in for a season of exciting yet amicable regattas.
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