Thousands flock to "snake boat" racing event at Manvers

The UUKMA Kerala Pooram Boat Race and Carnival took place on Sunday at Manvers Lake - six weeks after the venue hosted the annual Bluebell Wood contest.

And another showdown will be held this weekend as the British Dragon Boat Racing Association holds a National League race day.

The Keralan event was organised by the Union of United Kingdom Malalyalee Associations (UUKMA), a registered charity which represents over 50,000 expatriates from the Indian state of Kerala who live in the UK.

More than 3,000 members of the Malayalee community from across the UK assembled at Manvers to witness “snake boat” racing, folk dance and live music.

The event was formally opened by MP John Healey and Wath councillor Cllr Alan Atkin. 

Eby Sebastian, vice president of the UUKMA, said: “We aim to introduce our ‘vallam kali’ racing to the United Kingdom - our first event was held at Draycote Water in 2017 as a celebration of the 70th anniversary of India’s independence. 

“We are very grateful to the trust for making available their fantastic venue at Manvers Lake which has allowed our event to take place.”

Chris Hawksworth, of Manvers Lake and Dearne Valley Trust, said: “We were really pleased to host the UUKMA boat race and cultural event and to welcome the UK Kerala community to our lake.

“This event supports our aim of creating a centre of excellence for dragon boating at Manvers.

“Together with Sunday’s event, it helps in putting Wath, Rotherham, and South Yorkshire on the map as a place of sporting action.”