Champions Boat League: First nine boats in Nehru Trophy grab eligibility

Alappuzha: The chundan vallams (snake boat) that would compete in the Champion’s Boat League would be selected based on their positions in the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. The tourism department that organises CBL has asked the district administration to hand over the list of the boats and the clubs that finished in the first nine positions. Although the guidelines regarding CBL were released the other day, it was unclear whether the ships that ended in the first few spots would be eligible for the championship.

Now that it has been confirmed that the boats will get the eligibility for the CBL based on their positions in the Nehru Trophy, four chundans in the first nine spots are facing various allegations. Meanwhile, a jury of appeal was formed on September 12 to consider the complaints. Although it was said earlier that the allegations against the boats would be regarded as after Onam, things got delayed. Now, the appeals jury has been formed swiftly, as there is barely a week left for the CBL.

There had been allegations that more guest rowers than the allowed number were included in the boats that finished second, third and fourth and that they had used timber or fibre oars. So, only the winning boat of the iconic Nehru Trophy has been officially announced until now. Meanwhile, the jury will listen to what the teams have to say and will inspect the visuals to see whether there have been any violations of law.

Meanwhile, one of the boats hadn’t competed in the loser’s final during the Nehru Trophy. So, the appellate jury will decide whether to grant them a place. However, it is not clear how a boat that didn’t compete in the round would be assigned a position on the podium. If any team faces disqualification after the jury’s inspection, the boat that finished next would be eligible to compete in the CBL.

Continuous races
The clubs and the boat samitis are delighted that this year’s CBL starts on September 19. Earlier, CBL was held almost a month after the Nehru Trophy Boat Race and the Onam season. So, the teams had to spend hefty sums to retain the oarsmen for training. However, this year, CBL has been scheduled right after the Nehru Trophy and the Onam festivities conclude. This is an advantage for the teams as they would get continuous races to help them stay on top of their game.