Alappuzha : The sixth season of the Champions Boat League (CBL), organised by the Kerala Tourism Department to take the State’s traditional boat-racing culture to an international audience, will begin at the Karuvatta Leading Channel Water Stadium on Saturday, September 19.
The nine snake boats that secured the top nine positions in the Nehru Trophy Boat Race will compete in the CBL 2026 season.The State-level inauguration will begin with the hoisting of the flag at 2 p.m. Tourism and Culture Minister P.C. Vishnunadh will preside over the function, while Minister for Home, Vigilance and Coir Ramesh Chennithala will inaugurate the event. Excise and Cooperation Minister Adv. M. Liju, K.C. Venugopal MP, and MLAs A.D. Thomas and Saji Cherian will speak. Tourism Director M. Anjana, IAS, will present the report.
Haripad Block Panchayat President V.K. Nathan, Karuvatta Grama Panchayat President Sreelakha Manu and District Panchayat Member Anila Raju will attend the function. The boat races will begin at around 2.30 p.m., and Saji Cherian MLA will distribute trophies to the winners.Tourism and Culture Minister P.C. Vishnunadh said the CBL is one of the State’s key tourism products marking the beginning of the tourism season. The league will help showcase Kerala’s rural landscape and traditional culture to domestic and international tourists while contributing to the development of boat racing as an international tourism and sporting brand.
The nine boats competing in CBL 2026 are Aroma Chundan (Aroma Boat Club, Paravur, Kollam), Nadubhagam Chundan (PBC Punnamada, NCFC Boat Club), Veeyapuram Chundan (UBC Kainakary), Mepadam Chundan (Pallathuruthy Boat Club, Kappaplavu), Niranam Chundan (Niranam Boat Club), Arppookara Chundan (Immanuel Boat Club, Kumarakom), Cheruthana Chundan (NBC Nattakom Boat Club), Niranam Punyaalan (Kumarakom Town Boat Club, Kumarakom) and Thalavady Chundan (Village Boat Club). In a change from previous seasons, participating teams will be identified by the names of their respective boats.
The sixth season will feature 11 races, including the final. The other league races will be held at Kallada, Kollam, on September 23; Pandanad, Alappuzha, on September 26; Kottappuram, Thrissur, on October 2; Marine Drive, Ernakulam, on October 10; Piravom on October 17; Thazhathangadi, Kottayam, on October 24; Pulinkunnu, Alappuzha, on October 31; Kainakary on November 7; and Kayamkulam on November 14.
The sixth season of the Champions Boat League will conclude with the President’s Trophy Boat Race in Kollam on November 21.
