Friday, 23 August 2013 01:35
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The Colombo Rowing Club (commonly known as CRC) is the premier boat club in Sri Lanka, founded in 1864. Its club house and boat house are located on the edge of the Northern Beira Lake, at Sir Chittapalam A. Gardiner Mawatha, in Colombo 02. The Colombo Rowing Club will be celebrating its 150th year in 2014 and many exciting events are planned in addition to the present activities of the club.
The club has always maintained close ties with other rowing clubs in the region, a tradition which dates back to the 1800s. One such club is the Karachi Boat Club that in recent years has developed a closer bond with its counterpart in Sri Lanka.
With the aim of fostering the spirit of camaraderie and amicable competition, the Colombo Rowing Club will be hosting the Karachi Boat Club to an inaugural inter-club regatta on 31 August 2013. This event will begin at 1:30 p.m. and is bound to attract a wide array of rowing enthusiasts in its wake. The club will put forward a formidable team as they have successfully won many regattas this year. Pakistani High Commission, Deputy Head of Mission Amana Baloach will grace the occasion as the chief guest.
Since its inception, the Colombo Rowing Club has progressed into one of the most prestigious and active private member clubs in Sri Lanka. Focused on the sport of rowing, the club also has social interaction and fellowship which is gaining popularity amongst members and non-members alike. The Colombo Rowing Club is the cradle of rowing in Sri Lanka and has been a vital catalyst to what the sport has grown into today.
The club is proud in its efforts that have seen many institutions taking up rowing over the past several years, including the three armed forces, which have started the sport at the club and have proceeded to develop their own rowing institutions.
At present there are 12 institutions with over 350 oarsmen and women using the facilities at the Colombo Rowing Club and the club extends all levels of support for the development of rowing. The club hosts as many as seven regattas throughout the year; catering to novices, intermediates and senior oarsmen/women.
Some of the commendable achievements of the Colombo Rowing Club in the past 12 months are as follows: ARAE - in Manila – Men: Mackillon Scull - Sajeev De Silva - 3rd consecutive win (may be a new record) and Double scull - Sajeev De Silva and Shehan Muthugala - 3rd time in a row. Women: Double scull - Winners - SubashiniKularathne and Ishika de silva and Scull – runner-up - Ishika De silva.
Sri Lanka Nationals - Men’s Overall Winner, Scull - Gold - Sajeev De Silva - 4th time in a row (new record), Silver – ShehanMuthugala. Double scull - Gold – Sajeev de Silva and Shehan Muthugala. Women - Overall Winner, Scull - Gold - Ishika De Silva, Silver – Samakya Gajanayake and Double Scull – Subashini Kularathne and Ishika De Silva.
Madras - Colombo Regatta – Overall – Mens Winner, for the second time in history, the Colombo Team won in Madras.
It is noteworthy that the Madras Colombo Regatta is the third oldest inter-club boat race in the world. Although the Regatta is 114 years old, there have been few intervals during the first and second World Wars and between 1983 and 1993, hence 2011 marked the 75th Regatta and the club hopes to conduct it again in 2014 in celebration of the Colombo Rowing Club’s 150th year.
75th Year Boar Race winners: In addition to the above accolades won by CRC, the club’s ace oarsmen Sajeev and Shehan have represented Sri Lanka and will be doing so in the foreseeable future.
