To understand Ranfer is to understand the point system. The two scull races are worth 4 and 7 points, the pairs carry 8 and 11 points, while the two four races contribute 12 and 17 points each. In the men’s category there were two heats while – as only 3 women’s crews entered – the women’s category had a straight final.
The 25th annual Ranfer Sprints was kick-started by excellent racing between The Colombo Rowing Club (CRC) and St. Thomas’ College (STC). Although CRC won by a clean margin of 52/59 points, STC put up a good fight; the first pair race down was a close one with CRC pulling ahead with their last few strokes and St. Thomas’ Colleges sculler, Vishan Gunatilleka, secured 7 points for his school by winning his second scull race with a significant lead. At the next heat Ananda College was pitted against Royal College and the University of Morattuwa (UoM). Royal College bagged 12 points by winning their first two races. However the UoM four quickly evened the score by winning their first race up. The Royal College sculler gave Royal the advantage again by pulling away from his competition and securing another 7 points for Royal and Ananda College gained 11 points by winning their second pair race up. The last four race became the deciding factor for this heat; although they lost their first four race up Royal College came back hard and secured themselves a place in the finals. The University of Colombo went straight to the finals.
The Men’s final was between the University of Colombo (Uoc), The Colombo Rowing Club and Royal College. CRC swept the boards by winning every race except for the second pair race which they lost to Royal College. Sajeev De Silva, the CRC sculler, won 11 points for his crew while Ashan Pitiarachchi and Dilshan Pitiarachchi gained 8 points for CRC by winning their first pair race down. The CRC four, rowed by Sanjiva Jayasuriya, Jehan Samarasekera, Mushahid Munshif, Shehan Muthugala and Pasan Ranaweera, put up another 29 points on CRCs side of the board – ensuring that CRC won Ranfer Sprints with 48/59 points.
Ladies’ College won the women’s category by an even bigger margin of 51/59 points. Ishara Abbey secured 11 points by winning both scull races for Ladies. Although Nihara Waravita and Nicola Ranasinha lost their first pair race to CRC, they contributed another 11 points to Ladies’ College by pulling ahead at their second race. The Ladies’ College four, rowed by Anoushka Tissera, Tarea Karunaratne, Davina Koch, Chanika Goonetilleke and Tehani Walpola, took home a bulky 29 points by winning both their races.
We would like to Congratulate Ladies’ College and the Colombo Rowing club for their excellent performance at the 25th annual Ranfer Sprints. Both these crews have certainly established themselves in the rowing circuit, and as we move further in to regatta season it will be interesting to see if they can stay at the top of their respective categories.
