ALAPPUZHA: Only two days remain for the ‘Olympics on water’ that enthrals boat race buffs, oarsmen of majestic snake boats have been practising with vigour in the backwaters of Alappuzha. 20 snake boats will vie for the prestigious Nehru trophy on the placid waters of Punnamada on Sunday.
The final round of practice has been progressing in various lakes and rivers of Kuttanad. According to Sajimon B, secretary, United Boat Club (UBC), Kainakari, the 30-day practice is nearing completion. “The training has been divided into two sessions. Physical training starts early morning and the rowing practice at 8am. After two or three rounds of rowing, the morning session ends and it is repeated in the evening,” he said.
“Before training begins, oats is served to all rowers. After practising, eggs, milk, banana and other food are served to the rowers. At noon, vegetable meals are served and, in the evening, nonvegetarian meals are served,” Sajimon said. The UBC is the club that has lifted the Nehru trophy the most number of times.
The boat that has won the most is Karichal Chundan. Most of the boat clubs have brought rowers from other states and defence forces. Nine rowers of Karichal are from other states, said Sajimon. The boat races were not held in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid restrictions.
To lift the spirit of their supporters, boat clubs have roped in defence personnel. Earlier, there were allegations that more than 50% of the rowers were from outside the state. So, the boat race society stipulated a norm in 2018 that the club would be disqualified if the number of persons from outside exceeds 25% of rowers. The clubs stick to this norm now, officials said.
The NTBR is the first match of the Champions Boat League (CBL) which was introduced in 2019. Twelve competitions spread across Alappuzha, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram districts will end with the final race in Kollam on November 23.