Mount Lavinia Hotel to host famed sea swim for 76th consecutive year

Friday, 22 February 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Mount Lavinia Hotel (MLH) in collaboration with Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) will host the annual Mount Lavinia two mile sea swim in grand style for the 76th year on 2 and 3 March 2013.

The much anticipated event will witness over 700 swimmers between the ages 12 to 70 from over 20 aquatic clubs across the island to take the waters at the iconic MLH bay.

“The two mile sea swim is synonymous with MLH and its location, and is incidentally one of the oldest open water swimming competitions in Asia, having seen participants passing down the title from generation to generation” MLH General Manager Bazeer Cassim said.

“Riding on a rich heritage spanning 200 years, we aim to uphold the time-honoured traditions of MLH through our association with the two mile sea swim, a much looked forward to event in our calendar.”

“The popularity of open water sea swimming has risen significantly during the last few years, more recently being raised to the status of an Olympic sport,” SLASUGeneral Secretary Nethru Nanayakkara noted.

She also said, “Our goal is to take this event to even greater heights by providing opportunities for sports enthusiasts to make the best of recreational activities in an environment conducive to endurance sports of this nature.”

The SLASUis the governing body of Aquatic Sports in Sri Lanka for the aquatic sports of swimming, diving, water polo, synchronised swimming and open water swimming.

This year will see the unveiling of the annual two mile sea swim mascot ‘Wallace the Whale’ in keeping with the competitive and fun spirit of the event. The mascot is based on the magnificent blue Whale which has now become a common sight along Sri Lanka’s coast, driving appeal to our destination as a global hot spot. Hence entwining it as an iconic symbol of good luck for an event of such calibre is indeed appropriate. “We wanted a mascot that would highlight the fighting spirit and essence of such a significant milestone in our event calendar, have relevance to Sri Lanka and prompt participants and visitors to have a ‘whale of a time’” explains MLH Group Manager Corporate Communications Mahika Chandrasena said.

Wallace the Whale is fictional, yet stands as a symbol of Scottish heritage. The name Wallace is a Scottish surname, which fits appropriately with the Scottish affiliation to the foundation of MLH. Sir Thomas Maitland: second Governor to Sri Lanka, was a Scottish nobleman who was the founder of Mount Lavinia in 1806.