Mobitel sponsors 23rd Rowing Championships

Mobitel, the National Mobile Service Provider will be the principal sponsor of the 23rd National Rowing Championships that commences on the waters of the Beira Lake on Monday, September 17, with the finals to be worked off on Saturday 22.

Mobitel who play a significant role in the promotion of sport in the country are sponsoring the regatta for the second successive year and speaking at the press briefing held on Thursday, Suren Amarasekara, the Chief Executive Officer said that Mobitel will continue to play a significant role in promoting rowing.

Last year, the organizers were unable to conduct the regatta due to the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games. However, this year’s regatta will be held on an even grander scale.

Promising developments for this year’s event include a field that has grown significantly since 2005, with the event now encompassing over a hundred races (each over 1000 metres), the participation of more than 200 oarsmen and women from a number of clubs island-wide, several new categories including coxless fours in the open category, under 23 and over 23 sections in the intermediate category and a new under 19 section in the junior category with racing now to be conducted over three lanes. This adds further scope to a competition that is widely regarded as one of the most respected competitions in the country. These new categories also complement existing events such as single sculls, double sculls, pairs and fours as well as the open (formerly seniors) and the junior (under 16) categories in men’s and women’s, boys and girls competitions. This year’s larger scale competition already shows a vast improvement since 2005 and is sure to remain one of the most highly anticipated sporting events in the local sports calendar as suggested by its dynamic and competitive nature.

“We are proud to be sponsoring an event of this magnitude, with over 100 races in a sport that is well known for its relentless focus on technique, endurance and athleticism that we believe results in a degree of precision that is second to none. At Mobitel we are simply obsessed with precision in our own every day activities especially as it pertains to fine-tuning our own offerings of service quality and customer satisfaction to a more precise degree as they are essential tools we use to improve our own customer- centric focus in areas we strive for perfection everyday” said Suren Amarasekara, the Chief Executive Officer of Mobitel.

Founded in 1864, the Colombo Rowing Club is the premier boat club in the country. Located at the club is the governing body of this sport, which is the Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL). The club also organizes the prestigious Madras-Colombo Regatta, the second oldest boat race in the world, the famous Oxford- Cambridge being the oldest. The sport has grown in popularity since Sri Lanka won a total of 7 medals at the 2002 South Asian Games- five silver medals and two bronze medals.

The following teams have confirmed their participation:
Men: Ananda College, Colombo Rowing Club, Old Joes Sports Club, Royal College, Air Force, Navy, St Joseph’s College, St. Thomas’s College, University of Colombo, Asian International School.

Women: Bishops College, Colombo Rowing Club, Ladies College, Musaeus College, and Asian International School