Thiruvananthapuram: The government is all set to launch a mammoth backwater event that spans nearly three months during the monsoon.The Champions’ Boat League (CBL) has been conceived in the IPL format with the intention of making the celebratory boat races a world-class experience for tourists and creating an international sporting atmosphere for the participant clubs and their oarsmen, according to tourism officials.The CBL will start on August 10 with the prestigious Nehru Trophy Boat Race in Alappuzha and end with the President’s Trophy Boat Race in Kollam on the state’s formation day (November 1)—holding 12 races during the intervening weekends.All races will be held in the afternoons—between 2.30pm and 5pm. The CBL winner will get a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, while those finishing second and third will receive Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh respectively.The tourism department is looking for entities that have expertise in managing, executing and promoting CBL in the next five years. Authorities have floated a request for proposal (RFP) that aims to make the selections through bidding.The agency should have a minimum standing of three years and preferably be sports-related proprietorships, sports and games companies or event management companies of repute.Through the CBL featuring nine teams, the government is aiming to conduct the snake-boat races more professionally, said tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran. “We want CBL to be a world-class tourism product capable of attracting thousands of tourists,” he said.Six out of the 14 districts will hold CBL races this year—12 boat races will be held in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram districts.The 1952-incepted Nehru Trophy will be the qualifying boat race for the selection of the top teams for the CBL.The CBL boat races include Nehru Trophy, Pulinkunnu, Kainakari, Kayamkulam, Karuvatta (Alappuzha), Marine Drive, Piravom (Ernakulam), Ponnani (Malappuram), Kottapuram (Thrissur) and Thazhathangadi (Kottayam) besides Kallada and President’s (Kollam).

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