Making its entry to a rather new sphere of sports that would boost endurance, mental harmony and physical fitness, ‘Indoor Rowing’ among Army personnel is fast gaining popularity, as witnessed on Thursday (24) for the first time at Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) during the Army Inter-Regiment Indoor Rowing Championship Tournament -2012.

More than 200 regimental competitors on ‘Concept-2’ machines that measure the workload, showed their rowing skills, needed for actual water rowing during the tournament under two categories; team events and individual events.

Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Army as the Chief Guest, at the invitation of Major General Milinda Peiris, Vice Chancellor, KDU and Chairman, Army Rowing Club, witnessed the final segment of the tournament, together with a gathering of senior officers and other invitees. 

Army’s Inter Regimental Indoor Rowing, now an annual event, awards trophies, gold, silver and bronze medals to the winners and participants, in addition to the certificates. Commander of the Army as the Chief Guest gave away the Championship Trophy and several other awards to the winners and winning teams as the day’s event drew to a close.

Although the Army initiated rowing in the organization as a sport in the year 1999, operational requirements in the battlefield at that point of time, did not permit the continuation of the game in tournament form until the year 2009. However, with the support of the Bolgoda Lake Rowing Club and other outside patrons, it has now entered the Army sport calendar as an annual event in the Army.

Prior to the final encounter on Thursday (24), all those competing men and women of the Army, vied for the supremacy in the tournament under five age categories while an Open Event (Endurance), attracted a group of cadets from the Sri Lanka Military Academy too as an auxiliary team to the tournament.
   
Sri Lanka Army Rowing Club with the support of the Bolgoda Lake Rowing Club conducted pre training sessions for competitors in the Bolgoda Lake, prior to today’s finals at the KDU premises.  

KDU Vice Chancellor, Major General Milinda Peiris, the heavyweight behind the promotion of popularity of Rowing as a sport in the Army, Senior KDU administrators, lecturers, undergraduates and a host of invitees viewed the day’s tournament. It was inaugurated early on Thursday (24) by Major General Milinda Peiris himself.