Rowing Crew Older, More Mature

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30856, 15 September 1965, Page 19

Rowing Crew Older, More Mature

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, September 14

Because the New Zealand rowing eight to tour Australia next month are older and more mature than many of their predecessors, the team manager, Mr D. G. Croot, feels there is little need for the psychological preparation that was given the 1964 crew r that went to Tokyo.

He said that their maturity brought a complete relaxation and a lack of worry. although every stroke in training was taken seriously. The team to tour Australia consists of an eight, a double sculls crew, a pair-oar crew and a single sculler. Mr Croot said the eight were training every day and were travelling to Mercer each week-end for long, hard rows. These were acting as conditioners before the interval work as the tour approached. A Press Association-Reuter report said yesterday that Australia had now made the meetings between the Australian and New Zealand crews a full test series. Mr Croot said that this would probably mean that the encounters would be dealt with on a points basis and not just as ordinary win or lose races.

He said a trophy had recently been donated by an Australian oil firm for the winner of the test series.