The surf and sand of the Mount Lavinia beach played host to the rowing community of Sri Lanka yesterday morning.
Sri Lanka’s first ever Surf Boat Rowing competition was held at Mount on Sunday, April 28th. Yesterday’s sea rowing display was an exciting and fun-filled day for both rowing enthusiasts and bewildered beach-goers.
An age old rivalry was born in a whole new setting: A Royal-Thomian surf boat race. Old boys from both schools took the seas in a race which S. Thomas won decisively, thanks to the Royal crew ‘taking the scenic route,’ as one spectator commented. A Women’s race was also held, where the Navy took on the Army crew.
The main trophy of the day was for the Men’s category. There were 8 participants from the Navy, Army, University of Moratuwa , Colombo Rowing Club and the local fishermen community. They raced in pairs until Navy and Army qualified for the finals. The final was an exciting race which Navy won by just 3 seconds.
The event also involved the local fishing community which participated in an 8-boat 15 horse power motorboat race. These attractions help create a broader interest in rowing in Sri Lanka.
During the course of the day, one crew broke a boat, one participant broke a finger, capsizing was common-place, and numerous people had quick escapes from being run over by boats. All this contributed to a day full of good fun and good sport!
The event was organised by the Secretariat for Indian Ocean Marine Affairs Co-operation (IOMAC) and the International Centre for Oceanology and Surf-Boat Association. The organizer hopes to take this sport to resort areas in Kalpitiya, Trincomalee, Arugam bay and Negombo as well.
