At the final press conference one of the organizers informed the invited journalists that after a lot of work and effort everything seems to be ready for the start of the first Croatian rafting regatta „Zrmanja 2006“, which is being organized from 28-30 April near the town of Obrovac at the River Zrmanja.
To pass the selected rout one will need 2.5 to 3 hours, and the participants will be crews presenting Croatian companies, institutions, individuals from Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia as well as one crew presenting the Croatian Government.
The Government crew will include the Minister of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development Božidar Kalmeta, the Minister of the Interior Ivica Kirin, Minister of Defence Berislav Rončević, Minister of Health and Social Welfare Neven Ljubičić, of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Petar Čobanković, of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar Kitarović and maybe even the Vice Prime Minister Damir Polančec, stated Marina Halužan spokeswoman of the Ministry sponsoring the regatta.
The Government supports this first Croatian Regatta, and the Ministry seeks an opportunity to promote in that way selective forms of tourism, Halužan explained. Such a form of tourism unites the country’s maritime and continental tourist offer, it prolongs the whole tourist season and it helps to strengthen non-developed parts of the country, like, in this case, the interior part of the Zadar area.
According to the organizer they are also expecting the President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesić who will use the opportunity to visit the town of Obrovac as well as the local motorboat factory PBO.
The opening ceremony will take place on Friday evening and the start of the regatta is set for Saturday morning at 8 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. Around 15 p.m. it is expected that the first boats will reach the finish line and the same day around 20 p.m. the winners will be pronounced. The whole event will end in form of a gala evening enriched with an interesting entertainment program. On Sunday will be organized a picnic on a sailing ship in the lower part of the of the River Zrmanja canyon.