Schools’ regatta to be held from Sept. 23 to 27
The third consecutive Schools Regatta organised and conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools’ Rowing Association (SLSRA) will take place on the waters of Beira Lake at the Colombo Rowing Club from September 23 to 27. The SLSRA, which functions amidst many setbacks, is determined to push rowing further among schools. Yet, sans a sponsor their efforts have been partly held up.
“We are a young association with three years of experience. Yet we managed to hold the first couple of regattas successfully after being able to attract a noteworthy sponsorship. But this time around we have been compelled to face the challenges. We know it’s not easy but the schools affiliated to the SLSRA are keen to conduct the event without interruption. The contributions will come from the 18 schools that are competing at the event but a sponsorship from the corporate sector is still an expectation,” pointed out Lasantha Welikala, the President of the Jurors for event.
Amidst many setbacks SLSRA is determined to push rowing further among s hools
The SLSRA inaugurated in 2011 had just 12 schools with them. The officials had to persuade the higher echelons of the Ministry of Education in forming the SLSRA with the minimum requirement to form a school association being 20. Currently the SLSRA has managed to bring the total number of schools to 18, with all of them being ‘highly’ active members.
“For the inaugural regatta we had eight schools but last year all 12 schools competed. This year we have all 18 teams, with six of them being newcomers, taking part. The major difficulty we have in promoting the sport among other schools is the lack of funds and equipment. We are looking at attracting more schools and we are negotiating with the relevant ends, such as the Ministry of Education and the international rowing fraternity. It’s not easy but we are hopeful of achieving our targets gradually,” stated Nishan Clasidas, the Secretary of SLSRA.
Among the participating schools are rowing strongholds Royal College, S. Thomas’ College, St. Joseph’s College, Ladies’ College and Musaeus College. Ananda College, Bishops College, Asian International School, Prince of Wales’ College, Visakha Vidyalaya, Nalanda College and D.S. Senanayake College are the promising sides featured among the top 12. Despite being rookies to the sport, Gateway International School, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Girls’ School, St. Peter’s College, Mahanama College, Stafford International School and Defence Services School are capable of producing shocks. The events have been categorized into five age groups with overall championships on offer in four age categories. The Under-13 age category will held as non-competitive events and will include single sculls and double sculls for boys and girls. The Under-14 events for boys and girls will be single sculls and double sculls. The most competitive events on cards will be the girls and boys events in Under-16, 18 and 20, which includes single sculls, double sculls, pairs and fours. The competition will culminate next Saturday with the final events lined up for the final day.