KOCHI: Malayalis are bonafide football fanatics. If there is another sport they go crazy over, it is snake-boat racing. It’s a matter of Kerala’s personal pride, you see. Taking a cue from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Soccer League (ISL), the tourism department launched the Champions Boat League (CBL) in 2019. However, the pandemic played spoilsport.
Now, the second season of CBL is on, and the concept is gaining momentum. Hundreds of rowers will rip through the calm backwaters of Kochi as the league enters the fifth round with a race at Marine Drive on Saturday.
A CBL technical committee member, R K Kurup, says the top nine clubs of the 2019 Nehru Trophy boat race are part of the current league. “These teams have also been given special names just like in IPL and ISL,” he adds.
“Tropical Titans (Pallathuruthy Boat Club), Mighty Oars (NCDC Kumarakom), Ripple Breakers (Punnamada Boat Club), Raging Rowers (Kerala Police Boat Club), Pride Chasers (Vembanad Boat Club), Coast Dominators (United Boat Club, Kainakary), Backwater Warriors (Town Boat Club), Backwater Knights (Village Boat Club, Edathua) and Thunder Oars (KBC/SFBC, Kumarakom) are the nine teams vying for the championship. The final will be held on November 26 in Kollam.”
Kurup explains the teams are awarded points based on their timings and tallied after each round. So, it is not about winning individual races. “We are seeing a neck-to-neck competition with some teams losing out by just a fraction of a second,” he adds.
The CBL, he adds, has the potential to be showcased as a global event. “The state government has allocated Rs 15 crore for the league, and the prize money comes to Rs 5.9 crore -- highest for any competitive sport in Kerala,” he says.
On concerns over the depth near the Marine Drive, Kurup says the issue has been mitigated to some extent by pressing the service of dredgers. “The three race tracks here are 1km-long each,” he adds. “You can expect some thrilling races.” Antony Antony of the Mighty Oars team is happy with the support at the domestic level, but believes “more needs to be done to popularise the event abroad”.
Mighty Oars are engaged in a stiff competition with Tropical Titans. “They have scored 38 points from four races. We are a close second with 37 points,” says Antony. The races will start from the fisheries office area near Abad flats and end at the Rainbow Bridge. Kochiites can catch the excitement at Marine Drive from 2.30pm to 5pm.