Taking a cue from the Indian Premier League format, The Kerala Government is all set to make its popular boat races into a world level event which happens in the month of Monsoon every year by introducing Champions Boat League (CBL) this year.
The move also focuses to attract more tourists at the thin season of tourism to the state by organizing a sporting atmosphere for participating clubs and their oarsmen.
The CBL will start on August 10 with the prestigious Nehru Trophy Boat Race in Alappuzha and end with the President’s Trophy Boat Race in Kollam on November 1, with 12 races during the intervening weekends.
All races are scheduled to be held in the afternoon between 2.30 pm and 5 pm.
The winning team will get a cash prize of Rupees 25 Lakh, while those standing on the second and third position will get Rupees 15 Lakh and Rupees 10 Lakh respectively. The Kerala State Tourism Department said that they are waiting for entities to come forth with their proposal to execute, manage and promote CBL for the next five years whose selection will be done through bidding.
The Tourism Minister of Kerala Kadakampally Surendran informed that the CBL will have nine teams.
He said further,” “We want the CBL to be a world-class tourism product capable of attracting thousands of tourists. Further, the league championship will help boat clubs financially. The players become more skilled. That will inspire a whole new generation of them,” he said. Furthermore, the CBL will help in bringing in tourists during the rainy season, which is usually considered a lean period for the tourism industry. The CBL will be held in the Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram districts.
The Nehru Trophy will be the qualifying boat race for selection of the CBL’s teams.
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