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| Saturday, 29 January 2005 |
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Water sports in watery grave by Gaston de Rosayro The country's water sports have come to a complete standstill following the colossal damage inflicted by the tsunami on their coastal leisure centres as well as extensive losses to costly equipment. The industry which provides hundreds of jobs for trained youth in mostly seashore areas has been entirely ruined by the disaster. Baron de Livera, President of the Windsurfing Association, while appealing for relief to get the activities back on track, estimated the total damage caused to property and equipment to bodies affiliated to his organisation at more than Rs. 100 million. He said that some of the country's finest surfing locales along the southern coastline including Kalutara, Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna and Weligama had suffered appalling damage. Ironically, many of the scuba diving training centres submerged by the tsunami are no more. Expensive gear washed away by the killer waves remains unsalvageable and is a write-off. Many of the island's coves which provided a natural environment for such aquatic pursuits have been ravaged beyond description. Indeed, some of the locations serving as the base for the functioning of these popular pastimes have been totally marooned. A good many conveniently located spits housing these operational nerve centres have been transformed overnight into veritable little islands, according to de Livera. Thilak Weerasinghe, the country's principal aquatic sports entrepreneur, said that many of his centres had been reduced to rubble. The Confifi Marina which comes under his flagship company, Lanka Sports Reizen (LSR), has been completely demolished. Some of LSR's other centres in Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna and Weligama have sustained severe damage. Others in Seeduwa and Negombo have been damaged but not as extensively as its southern links. Out of business "The tsunami has put the entire water sports industry out of business. All our centres have been closed temporarily. We have appealed to the minister of tourism to assist the industry by informing donor organisations of our requirements. We have also requested the authorities to allow duty free imports of equipment and to consider waiving duty on all donated equipment," Weerasinghe said. (Anyone wanting to help in the restoration process could contact de Livera on tel/fax 2824421 or email Weerasinghe at lsrgama@sltnet.lk). Water sports, which developed rapidly in this part of the world over the last few years, had been attracting an eager inflow of foreign visitors even at times when the tourist industry had been in the doldrums. The industry was riding high on a wave of unprecedented success until the day of the fateful killer breakers. Weerasinghe who painstakingly built up his centres from small beginnings said he would have to restart building his operations from scratch. The only consolation he has derived from the disaster is the fact that none of his staff manning the centres had lost their lives. "That is the only silver lining for us. I am proud that the lads forsook salvaging the equipment that had been washed away and undertook the more humanitarian task of doing what they had been trained to do ... that of saving several lives," he said. LSR employees and staff of many other recreational centres have been commended for saving the lives of several local and foreign vacationers at the risk of sacrificing their own when the tsunami battered the coastline. The industry also provides employment to quite a few expatriate diving instructors and highly-skilled water sports coaches. During the boom times many local employees who had obtained foreign training under the aegis of the Windsurfing Association as instructors have found lucrative employment in several parts of the world such as the Maldives, East Asia and Europe. The Tourist Board along with the different water sports and scuba diving associations and commercial operators has of late been engaged in a vigorous campaign to promote the country's attraction as a popular water sports venue. Promotional drive LSR in collaboration with the Windsurfing Association, the Tourist Board and other allied organisations have been presenting a series of water sports spectaculars as part of the tourist promotional drive to highlight the seductive allure of adventure sports in Sri Lanka. While last year's first one-day cricket international between England and Sri Lanka was being played at the Rangiri Stadium in Dambulla, millions of TV viewers were treated to exciting segments of water-skiing, windsurfing and jet-skiing displays on the adjoining Imbankatuwa Reservoir. Over the recent past, several local competitors, who had been employed mostly as trainers among others, have participated in international windsurfing and water skiing competitions at the Goodwill Games in Russia, the previously concluded two Asian Games and the Asia Australasia Championships held in China. Baron de Livera, is among a handful of remaining pioneering water sports enthusiasts who helped introduce and popularise water-skiing, power-boat racing, yachting, windsurfing, canoeing and kayaking to Sri Lanka. He excelled himself in both water-skiing and power-boat racing by lifting the champion's trophies in both aquatic sports on the trot for several years. His skills as a virtuoso power-boat driver earned him the enviable title of "The Flying Baron" by sports journalists of the time. His credentials in other aquatic sports are equally impressive. De Livera sailed his own yacht round the island on several occasions and navigated the vessel to neighbouring India. He has been a member and President of many local clubs including the Powerboat Association, the Ski Club, Otter Aquatic Club of which he was General Secretary, the Surf Life Saving Association of Ceylon, the Surf Club, Yacht Club, and the Colombo Swimming Club. De Livera, widely considered the de facto goodwill ambassador of the country's water sports, together with Tilak Weerasinghe is liaising with officials of its overseas counterparts, foreign embassies and the Tourist Ministry among other organisations to resurrect the industry. The revival effort is bound to be an enormously daunting task. De Livera while conceding that rebuilding from the submerged foundations would hardly be considered a cakewalk, but is confident that the tenacious spirit of water sports enthusiasts could never be dampened. "Even when the chips are down there is no gainsaying the certainty that the water sports fraternity will always endeavour to keep its chin up," says de Livera. That resolute spirit has been amply demonstrated by the "Flying Baron" who has already made a soaring start towards the reconstruction effort. |
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