Airtel Lanka sculls 39th Royal-Thomian Regatta

Bharti Airtel has been appointed as principle sponsor of the annual Royal-Thomian Regatta.

This regatta is the annual rowing competition between S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and Royal College, Colombo 7.

This encounter commenced in 1962 as the Royal Thomian Boat Race. This evolved into a regatta format in 1966 and currently comprises of eight races. The races are rowed over a distance of 1,000 yards and the venue is the Beira Lake in Colombo. This event takes place in the month of October and is usually held on the last Saturday of the month at the Colombo Rowing Club.

The Royal-Thomian Regatta is the oldest inter-school rowing regatta in Sri Lanka, with Royal being the first school to take up school rowing in the country in 1955. The Boat Race is rowed for the Royal Thomian Boat Race Trophy. The overall winner of the regatta is awarded the T. Noel Fernando Memorial Trophy.

Commenting about the sponsorship, Airtel Lanka CEO and Managing Director Suren Goonewardene said: “We have already established a dominant position as a leading supporter of sports in Sri Lanka and are very pleased to have extended that even further by sponsoring the Royal-Thomian Regatta, the oldest and most prestigious schools rowing tournament in the country. We strongly believe in sports development as it plays a key role in the development of future leaders and role models.”

 “We are very happy and grateful to have Airtel Lanka as the sponsor for the Royal-Thomian regatta, which is one of the most prestigious sporting events in the schools calendar,” stated Prof. Indra de Soysa, Warden, S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.

“Airtel Lanka has partnered with S. Thomas’ College on many occasions and our close involvement with them will certainly take our sports to the next level.”

 “As the first school to take up rowing in Sri Lanka, we feel indebted to ensure that this great sport is continued for generations to come and corporates such as Airtel Lanka stepping in to aid us makes this task much easier for us. We are grateful to them for their assistance and look forward to a productive relationship in the future,” Upali Gunasekara, the Principal of Royal College, Colombo said.

Airtel Lanka recently made its foray into the field of sports sponsorships through its associations with rugby, tennis and golf. The company thus far has been involved in the development of schools rugby, as evidenced by its sponsorship of S. Thomas’, St. Peter’s and Kingswood College’s rugby teams as well as the Sri Lanka Navy Rugby team.

The company is also the sponsor of the Tennis National Championships and the Colombo Championships and is now extending its reach to rowing. While Airtel Lanka continues to be involved beyond just a mere investment with all its sports sponsorships stakeholders, it is committed to developing local talent to international standards, thus fostering sports to new heights.