The title ‘Aqua Vida’ – water life is an apt name for the event by Clear Mark that was held on the 14th of November at the Jetwing Blue Hotel Negombo from 8am onwards as it was South Asia’s Biggest Beach Sport Festival.
Aqua Vida catered to around 680 athletes and over 75 teams in the six disciplines of Beach Rugby; Beach Football, Beach Water Polo, Beach Handball, Beach Volley Ball and a Sea Swim, fulfilling its goal of introducing a varied range of water sports to our nation.
Dr. Kiss Gergely, 3 time Olympic champion, legendary water polo player and esteemed brand ambassador of the event, expressed his support as follow: “I’m proud and happy to work with Awnee and his team on this initiation. Kiss 7’s is the Beach Water Polo Competition held after my name, and I look forward to this event going on to an international level someday.”
“Sri Lankans love sports; the beautiful climate is convenient, with it being an island, surrounded by the sea. An event like this is a great concept, even for us in Europe, as we aren’t privileged with the location that Sri Lanka has to offer.” He added.
The festival kick started with the Sea Swim of 1km, where Shemalka Nishen of the Swim Tech Swimming Club and K.K. Dassanayake of the Air Force emerged victorious in the men’s and women’s categories respectively.
The Beach Football, Beach Hand Ball and Beach Rugby matches were held simultaneously in their respective pitches, cheered on by enthusiastic sports fans. The results of the events are as follows:
Beach football
Champions – Team Fifteen
Runners up – Kalutara SC
Beach Handball (men’s)
Champions – Army and Air Force (joint winners)
Beach Handball (women’s)
Champions – Air Force
Runners up – Army
Beach Rugby
Champions – Wele Sudas
Runners up – Mt. Panthers
Beach Volleyball (men’s)
Champions – Air Force
Runners up – Army
Beach Volleyball (women’s)
Champions – Navy
Runners up – Ahaliyagoda Dharmapala College
Beach Water Polo (men’s)
Champions – OTSC
Runners up – Navy B
Beach Water Polo (women’s)
Champions – Air Force
Runners up – Navy
The chairperson for Aqua Vida Awnee Razack stated that he is most excited for the proceedings of this event, as it was most looked forward to, on their calendar.
The sponsors of the inaugural edition of the festival were: SAGT (Platinum Sponsor), Jetwing Hotels (Official Hospitality Partner), Sri Lankan Airlines (Airline Partner), Coca Cola (Beverage Partner), TNL Radio (Radio Partner), Red Bull (Energy Drink Partner), Sea Doo (Water Sports Partner), Winfield Sports (Advertising Partner) Clear Mark Holding (Event Partner) and wow.lk (Online Partner).
