CHRISTCHURCH REGATTA

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27883, 3 February 1956, Page 8

CHRISTCHURCH REGATTA

ROWING

RECORD ENTRY OF 96 INTEREST IN EIGHTS AND FOURS The second of the three rowing regattas which count for the D.C.L. Cup will be held at Stewarts Gully tomorrow. The Christchurch regatta, the most important of the season, could almost be regarded as a Canterbury championship and this year it has drawn a record entry of 96, from eight clubs—Union, Avon, Canterbury, Cure, Timaru, North End (Dunedin), Petone and Star (Wellington). With the New Zealand championships and Olympic trials drawing closer oarsmen who have hopes of 'being selected for Melbourne are now under considerable pressure, and the standard of performance tomorrow is expected to be high. The season’s first major regatta, at Picton, produced a stern struggle between Canterbury and Star (Wellington) in the eights and fours. Star had a number two crew at Picton and it surprised by beating Canterbury. This Star four was a junior crew but it has now become Star’s number one senior four and Canterbury will no doubt be anxious to make amends for its Picton defeat. At Timaru, the second of the season’s major regattas, Canterbury beat Queen’s Drive (Otago) in the senior fours and it could fairly claim now to be the best South Island four. Queen’s Drive won the plate race at last year’s national championship but Canterbury showed a vast improvement on its Picton form.

The eights will be the day’s biggest event. At Picton Canterbury held off Star number one and won by more than a length. Tomorrow's race is a most important one for Canterbury which will be eager to establish a superiority before flying to Wanganui to compete in the regatta there on February 11. At that regatta Canterbury will meet West End and Aramoho, two of New Zealand's leading clubs. In the senior pairs at Picton, Avon (J. James and D. James) had a tremendous struggle with Union and tomorrow’s race should be another thrilling one with the Timaru pair also in the picture. The senior double sculls has drawn the same three entries it did at Timaru last week. At that regatta Timaru (P. Smith and F. Brosnahan) won well and Union’s seasoned crew*, N. West and G. Harrison, who have been outstanding for some years, could finish only third. Tomorrow tfie Union pair has a chance to redeem itself. A junior single sculls event will be raced tomorrow, the first in Canterbury for some years. It has drawn a good field of seven entries. The Timaru club, strong in single sculls, may find the competent Petone sculler, B. Boese, hard to beat.

The Canterbury club has re-pre-sented the Colin Cook Memorial Cup which it won at a Lyttelton regatta about 30 years ago and for which there has not since been a competition. Tomorrow it will be won by the club gaining most points in senior events. Form showed at tomorrow’s regatta will help many crews decicte whether they will compete at the New Zealand championships, for which the entries close early next week.