ROWING.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 256, 26 October 1907, Page 12

ROWING.

The formal opening of the present rowing season on Saturday last was a brilliant success. Unfortunately a northerly wind made the water very choppy which militated greatly against good starts, but on the whole I do not thinkthat any one crew may be said to have had an unfair advantage at the start. As was only to be expected, with eight crews in each heat, there were one or two fouls, but I am convinced that these were unavoidable, and I was glad to silj that crews regarded tiie matter in a proper sportsmanlike spirit, and that no protests were lodged. The racing, on the whole, taking into consideration that the crews were mixed, and the fact that

practically none of the competitors had put in any training this season, was distinctly good. The distance was short, but towards the finish I noticed some really good combined work. The arrangements for the comfort of guests and the conduct of the races was all that could be desired, and the energetic secretary of the Association (Mr. W. W. Benjamin) deserves every credit. The following dates have been fixed for regattas so far: — November 23rd: Auckland Rowing Association's Gala at Mercer. December 14th: Ponsonby Regatta at Auckland. January Ist, 1908, Whangarei Regatta at Whangarei. January 29th, Anniversary Regatta, Auckland. March 17th, Ngaruawahia Regatta. March 23rd: Championship meeting at Napier. i Hamilton applied to the Association j for the date of their regatta, to be fixed I for January 29th, but in view of the j Anniversary regatta taking place on that day, they have been asked to fix their function for February loth, which will no doubt be agreed to. The sub-committee appointed by the A.R.A. have now drawn up their pamphlet regarding regatta rules, etc. The pamphlet is very complete and comprehensive, and deals full}, with premiership points, rules of racing, list of races, etc. | A new club has just been formed in ] the Province, at Kopu. The club has ' asked to be affiliated with the association, but this cannot take place until the club has enjoyed an existence of at least three months. I Owing to the lack of interest shown i locally, the Dargaville Club has gone out j of existence. I regret this very much, j as last year the club showed consider- : able promise. i In connection with the A.R.A. gala to ] lie held at Mercer on November 23rd, j Mr. B. S. Finn lias been appointed to i interview the residents of Mercer, and I the Secretary has boon instructed to | draw up a programme, to be submitted j to the next meeting of the Association. ! A sub-committee consisting of Messrs.' Bach, Mason and Benjamin, has been ap- i pointed by the local association to revise the rules with a view to bringing them up-to-date. The Association has decided to carry out their determination to promote pairoared and double sculling races, and the , secretory has been instructed to apply' to the Ponsonby regatta club for this class of races to be included in their programme. The Association are fortunate in having such an energetic and capable representative on the council of the N.Z.A.R.A. as Mr. F. E. Morton. This gentleman strenuously defended the action of the locnl Association in connection with their recent suspension. The Auckland Association has taken very strong exception to the ruling of the chairman of the N.Z.A.R.A. that a professional could belong to an amateur club, but could not compete in amateur events. The Auckland club's heavy maiden crew had an unenviable experience during the week. They were out in the racing boat in choppy water, and when near the end of the Queen-street wharf their boat swamped. Fortunately all the men were expert swimmers, or the affair might have had a much more serious aspect. As it was the crew had the greatest difficulty in keeping their boat from being smashed against the piles and some of them were considerably cut about the feet in the effort. As soon as their plight was known the whale boat, was got out, and with creditable dispatch, proceeded to the rescue under the direction of Mr. 11. deal (captain). The crew were soon brought back to the shed little the worse for their unexpected immersion. My sympathies are certainly with the coach, Mr. G. Fookes, who waa fully dressed at the time, and was necessarily hampered in swimming. This is but another illustration of the absolute necessity of oarsmen acquiring the art of swimming, and I am indeed glad to see that clubs are doing all in their power to encourage members to learn. The official opening of St. George's Club takes place on Saturday next. The. programme consists of trial fours for the trophies presented by the commodore (Mr. Russell), also swimming races, greasy boom, and tub races. The annual relay swimming race between clubs has been postponed indefinitely, on account of the opening day clashing with West End Club s opening function. St. George's Club's regatta crews are well in training. This season they have two heavy maiden, two light maiden, and one light junior crews.