Avon poised to win eights title

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33779, 27 February 1975, Page 28

Avon poised to win eights title

(Prom TIM DUNBAR)

WAIHOLA. A very open champion eights final is promised on Saturday, although the Avon and Whakatane crews both had decisive heat wins in the national rowing championships at Lake Waihola yesterday. Avon’s senior coach, Mr F. Strachan, still nonchalant after his crew’s three-length win over Wellington which put it straight into the final,

said he had a healthy respect for the Otago and Waikato eights. Otago led Whakatane to the 1000 m mark and performed very well for a crew which lost its junior status only last season by eventually finishing just two lengths and a half behind the defending champion, with Waikato half a length back.

“We have beaten Otago twice this season, but it is a fast improving light crew and a following wind would give them a good chance in the final,” Mr Strachan said.

In its race, Avon, reaping the benefits of many repitition fast starts in training, began brilliantly. It was rowing at 38 strokes up to the 500 m mark and never dropped much below that. CREW CONFIDANT "We have been short on races this season and decided to give it a burn out of the blocks,” said Mr Strachan. The crew itself is quietly confident about its chances of winning the first champion eights title for the South Island, but very much

aware of the problems involved.

“We started fast today, but on Saturday we will have to keep on going fast,” said David Lindstrom, the No. 5 in the boat.

Avon was unlucky to draw the weaker of the two heats — especially as it has had a paucity of top competition — and a further race might have prepared it better for the final.

TACTICAL LOSS? “It is even possible that Otago followed the established European practice at Olympics and gave its race away in order to have another competitive row in the repechages,” said Mr Strachan.

The Whakatane coach, Mr T. Reid, was very happy with his crew’s performance. ‘ We had the control and the boat run I am looking for,” he said.

But withdrawals from the crew, which won at Lake Karapiro last year, meant that three former maiden rowers had to be added and it was late assembling. Therefore, by no means is it clearcut that Whakatane will retain its title and Mr Reid admitted that Avon and Otago would be tough opponents; HARD RACE Another Whakatane crew, the coxed pair of Grant McAuley and Bob Murphy, also had a fine win yesterday to go into the final with Cambridge (David Rodger and Peter Bitton). It had a very hard race against the young Porirua crew and finished only half a canvas ahead, but McAuley and Murphy only started serious racing together as a pair after Christmas. The pair’s unbeaten record against Cambridge, the title holder, and the fact that ’ts time yesterday was 16sec faster than Cambridge’s suggests that it has an excellent chance of a win on Saturdav. Holders of champion titles generally had a good day; John White and Tony Hurt (West End) easily made the final of the doubles and Wvbo Veldman and Noel Mills (Whakatane) made up for their surprise loss in the coxless pairs on Tuesday with a comfortable win in the repechages. GOOD EFFORT

Christchurch clubs had one of their most successful days at a national championships and nine crews made semi-finals — four from Avon, three from Union and two from Canterbury — as well as the Avon senior eight qualifying for its final. One of the best efforts came from the Avon novice I eight which repeated its win iover the much heavier

Otago crew in the recent Canterbury championships. A great rivalry’ has developed between the two crews and the score was even at 1-1 before yesterday’s race.

Otago led clearly at the 1000 m, but Avon increased its stroking rate, proving that swinging together is more important than superior strength. John Stuart, the Avon maiden sculler, finished second, just behind the more experienced Hutt Valley sculler, Tom Logan, but his time was the third fastest of the 26 starters in the early morning heats. In the afternoon, Stuart was not troubled to qualify for the semi-finals with a four-length victory in the repechages and he still has a good chance of winning the first sculling title for Canterbury since 1958. The sun shone brightly all day and the slight wind allowed a full day’s racing. In fact, with events pushed through every five minutes instead of the usual 10 the programme finished nearly three hours ahead of schedule. (Results, page 18).