The rowers of Cospicua and Marsa are again expected to dominate the Victory Day regatta races at Grand Harbour, this afternoon.

Last year, it all went down to the last race and the one that carries most points of the five in the Open category.

A second placing for Cospicua inside their four-man boat would have been enough for the Blues to claim the title exclusively for themselves. However, in the end they could only manage a third position behind Marsa and Senglea.

That meant the Shield had to be shared for the first time between the clubs of Marsa and Cospicua, bringing to an end Senglea’s streak of five titles in a row.

Cospicua and Marsa retained most of their leading oarsmen this summer, making them favourites to stave off the challenge of the rest of the field even though this time they will be aiming for outright re-tention of the coveted Shield.

Senglea are the most successful club in the Victory Day regatta list of all-time winners with 23 titles.

In 2013, they failed to win a single race in the Open but the yellow-red outfit did manage to strike success in the B Category which could raise their hopes and expectations of springing a surprise as outsiders today.

The other clubs in competition will be Vittoriosa, Marsamxett (Valletta), Kalkara and Birzebbuga.

It is understood that a concerted effort is being made by the organisers to shorten the duration of the afternoon races – 10 in all – by reducing the time gap between one event and another.

If successful, that measure alone could help to draw the crowds back to Grand Harbour even though other decisions need to be taken to put the Victory Day regatta back to the popularity levels it enjoyed in the past.

Last 10 winners
2004 Senglea; 2005 Marsa; 2006 Marsamxett; 2007 Marsamxett; 2008 Senglea; 2009 Senglea; 2010 Senglea; 2011 Senglea; 2012 Senglea; 2013 Cospicua/Marsa.

Overall winners
Senglea 23 times; Cospicua 17; Marsa 10; Kalkara 7; Marsamxett 2; Vittoriosa 1.

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