The 29th National Rowing Championship is to take place from the 26th to the 28th of June 2014 at the Diyawannawa Rowing Center Battaramulla. A media conference in this regard was held at the Colombo Rowing Club this evening.
The head table comprised of- Mr Rohan Fernando – President of the Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL), John De Neise – Treasurer (ARASL), Lushanth De Silva – Vice President (ARASL), Chandrashekhar Singh Chauhan – Chief Marketing officer Bharti Airtel Lanka, Dimuth Gunawardena – Secretary (ARASL), Wg.Cdr.Gayajith Dassanayake – Asst. Secretary (ARASL)
The 29th edition of the Rowing Nationals organized by the ARASL will see the participation of close upon 300 oarsmen and oarswomen competing in two main categories as Men’s and Women’s and three sub categories as under 18, over 18 and open.
This year’s event is sponsored by Bharti Airtel Lanka for the 2nd consecutive year. They have come to the forefront of the sport in the country with sponsorships of school crews like the Royal College crew, S.Thomas’ crew and the Musaeus College crew while also sponsoring the most looked forward to schools rowing event the annual Royal Thomian regatta.
The championship will host 846 events within a span of 3 days with 28 finals to be paddled off on the final day. The regatta will consist of Single sculls, double sculls, coxless pairs, Coxed fours in the U-18, over 18 and open age categories while an exhibition quadruple sculls race will take place for the first occasion on Sri Lankan waters.
The Diyawanna Lake Rowing center which was newly done up under the keen eye of the Secretary of Defense and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa boasts of an International standard multi-lane rowing course where spectators can enjoy vantage viewing access from both banks embracing the entire course which runs up to 2 km. This improved facility accommodated over a thousand spectators last year and is expected to draw in more numbers this year.
Speaking at the media conference held today at the Colombo Rowing club to launch the event the President of the Amature Rowing Association of Sri Lanka, Mr. Rohan Fernando said “Our vision is to make this sport the finest in the country, generate interest and provide access for everyone to participate, be it as a hobby or at a championship level”. The ARASL has already put in place ambitious plans to establish a National Rowing Academy which is to train athletes from all age groups with the assistance of International coaches, trainers and techniques.
This year’s National Rowing Championship will see Schools, Universities, Clubs and forces taking on each other in a battle of Oars to reign supreme and win the coveted cup. The following are the teams to take part in this year’s edition of the National Rowing Championship;
Men’s –
School Crews – Royal College, S. Thomas’ College, St. Josephs College, Ananda College
University crews – University of Colombo, University of Moratuwa
Club Crews – Colombo Rowing Club, Bolgoda Rowing Club
Forces Crews – Army, Navy, Air force, Kothalawala Defense Academy
Women’s –
School Crews – Musaeus College, Bishops College, Ladies College
University crews – University of Colombo, University of Moratuwa
Club Crews – Colombo Rowing Club, Bolgoda Rowing Club
Forces Crews – Army, Navy, Air force, Kothalawala Defense Academy
With a lot of action on the cards on these three days, the crowds are expected in numbers to enjoy this rare action on the picturesque Diyawanna.
