Champions Boat League sixth season to begin at Karuvatta on September 19

Alleppey / September 18, 2026

Alappuzha, Sep 18: The sixth season of the Champions Boat League (CBL), organised by the Kerala Tourism Department to take the State’s traditional boat-racing culture to an international audience, will begin at the Karuvatta Leading Channel Water Stadium on Saturday (September 19).

The nine snake boats that finished in the top nine positions in the Nehru Trophy Boat Race will compete in the CBL.

The State-level inauguration will begin with the hoisting of the flag at 2 p.m. Tourism and Culture Minister Shri P.C. Vishnunadh will preside over the function. Minister for Home, Vigilance and Coir Shri Ramesh Chennithala will inaugurate the event. Excise and Cooperation Minister Adv. M. Liju, Shri K.C. Venugopal, MP, and MLAs A.D. Thomas and Saji Cherian will speak. Tourism Director M. Anjana, IAS, will present the report.

 Haripad Block Panchayat president V.K. Nathan, Karuvatta grama panchayat president Sreelakha Manu and district panchayat member Anila Raju will attend the function. The boat races will begin around 2.30 p.m. Saji Cherian, MLA, will distribute the trophies to the winners.

The CBL is one of the best tourism products to mark the beginning of the tourism season in the State, Tourism and Culture Minister P.C. Vishnunadh said. The league would help showcase Kerala’s rural landscape and traditional culture to tourists, including those from abroad, during the tourism season. It would also help turn boat racing into an international tourism and sporting brand, he said.

The nine boats competing in CBL 2026 are Aroma Chundan (Aroma Boat Club, Paravur, Kollam), Nadubhagam Chundan (PBC Punnamada, NCFC Boat Club), Veeyapuram Chundan (UBC Kainakary), Mepadam Chundan (Pallathuruthy Boat Club, Kappaplavu), Niranam Chundan (Niranam Boat Club), Arppookara Chundan (Immanuel Boat Club, Kumarakom), Cheruthana Chundan (NBC Nattakom Boat Club), Niranam Punyaalan (Kumarakom Town Boat Club, Kumarakom) and Thalavady Chundan (Village Boat Club).

In a change from previous years, the participating teams will be identified by the names of their respective boats.

The season will have 11 races, including the final. The other league races will be held at Kallada in Kollam on September 23, Pandanad in Alappuzha on September 26, Kottappuram in Thrissur on October 2, Marine Drive in Ernakulam on October 10, Piravom on October 17, Thazhathangadi in Kottayam on October 24, Pulinkunnu in Alappuzha on October 31, Kainakary on November 7 and Kayamkulam on November 14.

The sixth season of the CBL will conclude with the President’s Trophy Boat Race in Kollam on November 21.

ENDS