Royal regain T. Noel Fernando Memorial Trophy comprehensively
View(s):Royal College celebrated a historic victory in the 53rd Royal-Thomian Regatta, defeating their traditional rivals, S. Thomas’ College, by a significant margin of 44-8 as they regained the T. Noel Fernando Memorial Trophy after a lapse of five years. Known as the world’s longest running inter-school regatta, the event took place at the Colombo Rowing Club at Beira Lake.
After a five-year gap, Royal claimed the title once again, with their last win dating back to 2019. Led by Nevan Perera, the crew from the Reid Avenue School dominated the competition, displaying their strength and skill throughout the races. S. Thomas’ College, captained by Ayuka Amarasekara, entered the regatta with the ambition of securing their third consecutive title, having won in both 2022 and 2023.
After an impressive show, Royal emerged victorious, defeating S. Thomas’ by a substantial margin of 44 points to 8. With this win, Royal broke the Thomians’ winning streak and took back the T. Noel Fernando Memorial Trophy. Royal lost only two races in the regatta and secured the important Boat Race, the ‘A’ Fours, easily, narrowly missing a new record by just a few seconds, while earning the highest points of 12. They won the ‘B’ Four event, which contributed an additional eight points to their tally, setting the stage for their historic victory.
The Regatta began with S. Thomas’ taking an early lead, winning the ‘A’ Scull event, earning six points and establishing a 6-0 advantage. The Thomians continued their success winning the second event, the ‘B’ Scull, and accumulating two more points, extending their lead to 8-0.
However, the tide turned from the third event when Royal won the ‘A’ Pair, allowing them to equalise at 8-8. This crucial win shifted the momentum in favour of Royal and from that point on, they displayed their strength by winning three consecutive events.
They took the ‘B’ Pair, which offered four points, followed by victories in the ‘A’ Double Scull (8 points) and ‘B’ Double Scull (4 points). By the end of these races, Royal had surged ahead with a staggering total of 24 points against S. Thomas’ eight. With the win Royal extended their tally t0 23 against S. Thomas’ 25 while five regattas have ended in draws.
The victorious Royal 2024 crew - Pix by Eshan Fernando