First ever surf-boat regatta in Mt. Lavinia on 28 April

The first ever Surf-boat regatta will be held at the Mt. Lavinia Beach on 28 April commencing at 7.00 a.m.

Surf-boat rowing, an internationally popular sport was introduced to Sri Lanka in 2012 under the aegis of the Secretariat for Indian Ocean Marine Affairs Co-operation (IOMAC) located in Colombo since the 1980s and pursuant to its mandate for promoting international cooperation across a wide range of activities, ranging from marine science and technology to ocean law, policy, management and the development of tourism and marine recreational activities.

The pioneering event has been organised with the support of enthusiasts, rowing club well-wishers, sponsors and the Tourist Board in order to promote the development of tourism, sports and a beach and marine based recreational culture in the country.

The Ministry Of Defence is also playing a strong role in the event through the participation of the Army and Navy who will be fielding several teams for the event.

Another highlight of the event will be the participation of the coastal community with over 20 fishing boat dinghies expected to race in the 25 h.p. and 15 h.p. categories.

Surf-Boat rowing originated in Australia during the early 1900’s, when powered vessels such as inflatable skiffs and Jet Skis replaced surf boats as the primary rescue boat for real-world rescue efforts.

Surf-Boat rowing is a sport of growing popularity around the world and unlike traditional rowing; it is rowed over a short distance of 400m out to sea, where contestant will battle the surf and then make their way back to the shore, finishing up with a short sprint back to the finish line.

This high intensity sport is expected to keep spectators on edge throughout the race.

The organisers look forward to conducting more surf-boat racing events in the calendar of the newly constituted Surf-Boat Association, which would have a presence at all the popular resort areas and beaches around Kalpitiya, Trincomalee, Arugam Bay, Negombo and Mt Lavinia in order to broad-base the sport and also elevate it as a tourist attraction.

Subsequently regional events will be organised that organiser hope will evolve in the near future to international level events with participation of international teams and spectators.  

Several teams including leading schools, universities and the armed forces as well are expected to take part in the first ever Surf-Boat Rowing fiesta.

This will be a fun-filled day for the whole day with music, food stalls and other entertainments on the beach. The commentators for the event will be well known comperes Arun Dias Bandaranaike and Sports Commentator Chandrishan Perera.

The event is to kick off at 7 a.m. near the Surf Club on the Mt. Lavinia beach.