AUCKLAND MUST PAY $5BO Saturday Deadline For Rowing Team

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32362, 30 July 1970, Page 19

AUCKLAND MUST PAY $5BO Saturday Deadline For Rowing Team

The 16-man New Zealand rowing team, which yesterday completed six weeks of training in Christchurch, will leave intact next week for the world championships at St Catharines, Canada—providing the Auckland Rowing Association produces $5BO by 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Two weeks ago, the national association was $lO,OOO short of the $28,000 required to finance the team’s tour, which also includes participation in the United States championship at Philadelphia.

ber of the team had given to preparing for the tour and also the fact that the selectors and the team’s coach (Mr R. Robertson) believe both crews would perform with distinction at St Catharines, Mr Strachan said. At present there was still $l6OO required to finance the tour, but it was expected much of this would be found. However, in giving unconditional support to Murphy and partial backing for Molesworth, the council had committed itself to the hilt.

It had even taken the unprecedented step of calling on affiliated associations to pay their travelling fpnd levy, not due until next month, now, Mr Strachan said. “We have really drained the bucket dry,” he added. Even so, the team will still leave New Zealand with insufficient funds to cover its expenses, and as promised money comes to hand it will be sent to Mr Strachan. Selling Boats The financial position is so acute that no money is available to pay for the boats that have been ordered for the team in North America. To overcome this problem, the New Zealand association has had to sell the team’s training shells and also call for tenders for the North American boats so that they can be re-sold with a minimum of delay. The team has been rowing most impressively and Mr Robertson has said that he considers it has reached a higher standard than the team which had outstanding success at the 1967 North American championship and the team which won the fours gold medal at the Mexico Olympics and finished fourth in the final of the eights.

Last week the position had improved sufficiently to ensure that the eight and the four would get away, but there was doubt about the two emergencies, R. K. Murphy and D. T. Molesworth.

Yesterday the convener of the national selection panel and the team’s manager, Mr F. Strachan, said the council of the New Zealand association had agreed that Murphy would go, but Molesworth’s departure would depend on Auckland’s reply. Might Race As Pair The onus was being placed on Auckland because Molesworth was a member of the Whakatane club, which was in the Auckland district, Mr Strachan added. It is intended that if Molesworth and Murphy are not required as substitutes, they will race as a coxless pair. In coming to its decision, the council took into account the time and effort each mem-