history

History of S Thomas' College Rowing Crew

The Thomian Rowing Crew was the second school to take up oars in then,Ceylon.In the years to follow both S.Thomas’ and Royal College

agreed to hold an annual boat race and in 1962 the first boat race was held ending in Royal’s favour with a difference of one boat length. S.Thomas’ in turn won their first boat race in 1964 with a distance of 4 boat lengths. The Royal-Thomian boat race was then transformed into a regatta in 1966 consisting of Coxed Fours, Coxed Pairs and both a Senior and Junior skull. The series continues to this day and now consists of a Junior Four, Junior B Four, both Senior and Junior Pair and Double Skul events and an U16 Four race. It has been held at the Colombo Rowing Club since its inception and is raced over 1000 yards. It boasts a rich history of Royal-Thomian rivalry and sportsmanship and is the 3rd oldest Royal Thomian event and second oldest regatta in Sri Lanka.

The event generally known as Royal Thomian Regatta or The Regatta is the annual rowing race between Royal College, Colomboand S. Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia having begun in 1962 as the Royal Thomian Boat Race that evolved into a regatta in 1966 and now is made up of 8 events.

The races are rowed over a distance of 1000 yards and take place on the Beira Lake in Colombo. The regatta takes place in the month of October and is usually held on the last Saturday of the month at the Colombo Rowing Club. The Royal Thomian Regatta is the oldest inter-school rowing regatta in Sri Lanka, with Royal the first school to take up school rowing in the country.

The Boat Race is still regarded as the most prestigious race. The Boat Race is rowed for the Royal Thomian Boat Race Trophy (Also known in the rowing fraternity as the ‘Crossed Oars’). The overall winner of the Regatta is awarded the T. Noel Fernando Memorial Trophy.

Having begun in 1962 ‘The Regatta’ is the 3rd oldest sporting encounter between Royal College and S. Thomas’ College, after the Battle of the Blues Cricket Encounter and Rugby Encounter.

In 2007 Royal, led by Malik Aziz brought a signaling defeat upon the Thomian fleet, making history by being the first captain to whitewash (40-nil) an opponent in the series. However S.Thomas’ College responed with equally admirable fire the following year under the captancy of Manil Salgadoe who near whitewashed Royal in exchange for the previous years defeat. The regatta is known to be an exciting event with unexpected twists in favour. royal is credited for holding the largest winning margins in history while S.Thomas’ is credited for holding both the Boat Race Trophy and T.N. Fernando Overall Trophy the longest.