Champions Boat League: Oct 19 venue changes, to be held in Kottappuram

Kottappuram, near Kodungallur, will be the new venue for the seventh race of the Champions Boat League (CBL) this weekend, as organisers changed the original plan to hold the October 19 leg at Ponnani in Malappuram district.

Citing logistical reasons that have made it extremely difficult for the CBL snake-boats to be brought to upstate Ponnani, the officials informed that the league’s races this Saturday will be held at the Muziris Kottappuram Waterfront that was the venue for the previous leg on October 12.

The district of Thrissur thus gets to host two rounds of the pioneering CBL that was inaugurated in Alappuzha on August 31 and is slated to conclude at Kollam on November 23. A total of nine snake-boats are participating in the 12-race championship modelled on the IPL cricket format and being held by Kerala Tourism.

Organisers found it risky to navigate the snake-boats, measuring an average length of 100 feet, from Kottappuram to the harbour town of Ponnani, 70 km northward.

The post-Kottapuram CBL races will go thus: Kainakari in Alappuzha (Oct 26), Pulinkunnu (also in Kuttanad, Nov 2), Kayamkulam (Nov 9), Kallada (Kollam district, Nov 16) and Kollam (alongside President’s Trophy Boat Race, Nov 23).

Currently, halfway the CBL, Tropical Titans top the overall tally with 83 points. Raging Rowers stand second with 41 points, followed by Mighty Oars (40) and Coast Dominators (37).