The
Champions Boat League (CBL), the annual sporting event designed to make Kerala
popular among travelers worldwide and to keep its traditional festivals alive, will get going after a gap of two years from September
4.

The CBL
features the state’s iconic snake boats (Chundan Vallom) and it’s a visual
treat to watch their course through the emerald backwaters, creating a zest and zeal.

The boat
races will be held in 12 venues across five districts. The inaugural leg will
be held at Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, alongside the Nehru Trophy Boat Race on
September 4. It will conclude with the President’s Trophy Race at Ashtamudi
Lake in Kollam on November 26.

Apart from
these, there will be a competition of small boats at Chaliyar River in Kozhikode
to popularize snake boat races in the Malabar region, Tourism Minister P. A.
Mohamed Riyas said.

Kerala, with
over 600 km of coastline and 44 rivers, has a great potential to host more
water-based sports, as the daily life and festivals are closely linked with water bodies, Tourism Director P.B. Nooh said.

The first
edition of the CBL in 2019 was won by Tropical Titans (Pallathuruthy Boat
Club), followed by Raging Rowers (Karichal) and Mighty Oars (NCDC Devas).