Sea swim reaching 76th year
SLASU General Secretary Nethru Nanayakkara addressing the
media |
The Mount Lavinia Hotel in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Aquatic
Sports Union will host the Annual Mount Lavinia Two Mile Sea Swim in
grand style for the 76th year on March 2 and 3. The much anticipated
event will witness over 700 swimmers between the ages of 12 years and 70
years from over 20 aquatic clubs across the island take to the waters at
the iconic Mount Lavinia Hotel bay on March 3 and 4.
"The two mile sea swim is synonymous with the Mount Lavinia Hotel and
its location and is incidentally one of the oldest open water swimming
competitions in Asia, having seen participants passing down the title
from generation to generation," enthuses Bazeer Cassim, General Manager
Mount Lavinia Hotel. "Riding on a rich heritage spanning 200 years, we
aim to uphold the time-honoured traditions of Mount Lavinia Hotel
through our association with the Two Mile Sea Swim, a much looked
forward to event in our calendar".
The trophies to be given away |
"The popularity of open water sea swimming has risen significantly
during the last few years, more recently being raised to the status of
an Olympic sport", notes Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union General
Secretary Nethru Nanayakkara. "Our goal is to take this event to even
greater heights by providing opportunities for sports enthusiasts to
make the best of recreational activities in an environment conducive to
endurance sports of this nature".
The Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union is the governing body of Aquatic
Sports in Sri Lanka for the aquatic sports of swimming, diving, water
polo, synchronized swimming and open water swimming.
Wallace the Whale, Mascot of the Two Mile Sea Swim
unveiled Resident Manager MLH Harinda Weerasinghe and
SLASU President Kithsiri Dayananda |
This year will see the unveiling of the annual Two Mile Sea Swim
mascot 'Wallace the Whale' in keeping with the competitive and fun
spirit of the event. The mascot is based on the magnificent Blue Whale
which has now become a common sight along Sri Lanka's coast and taking
our destination further by making it a global hot spot. Hence entwining
it as an iconic symbol of good luck for an event of such caliber is
indeed appropriate. "We wanted a mascot that would highlight the
fighting spirit and essence of such a significant milestone in our event
calendar, have relevance to Sri Lanka and prompt participants and
visitors to have a 'whale' of a time," explains Mount Lavinia Hotel and
Resorts Group Group Manager Corporate Communications Mahika Chandrasena.
Wallace the Whale is fictional yet symbolizing the Scottish heritage.
The name Wallace is a Scottish surname fits appropriately to the
Scottish affiliation to the foundation of the Mount Lavinia Hotel. |