Big business now in rowing

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33804, 29 March 1975, Page 42

Big business now in rowing

( By

TIM DUNBAR)

Rowing is becoming a ‘•boat-builders’ contest”] rather than one between crews of oarsmen/ according to Mr C. A. Stiles, a local boatbuilder and former New Zealand Olympic rower. Like al] sports, rowing was becoming a “business,” and some countries were spending vast amounts of money trying to improve their standards and facilities, he said. Mr Stiles commented on a recent Press Association message which reported the president of the New Zealand Rowing Association (Mr D. D. Rowlands) as trying to lease a plastic carbon-fibre Empacher boat for the national eight. “The plastic boats are considerably lighter than wooden skills and, theoretically, move more quickly through the water," the report said. Mr Stiles has a photograph of a standard Empacher four on display at Lucerne, Switzerland. during the 1974 world championships, which weighs 70kg, according to its information card. ‘Same Height’ “This is the same weight as our standard fours,” said Mr Stiles, a boat-builder in Christchurch for more than .30 years. “I’m sure that the carbonfibre boats can and have been made lighter than the conventional boats, but it has not been proved to me that a lighter boat is any better. “One o'/*V?as coach came up wife Jie theory that a foot cf difference was made over 1500 m for every 201 b of boat weight, without the crew. How does he work this out? “The weight of crews and water conditions all have an important bearing on the speed a boat moves through the water. “The Italian Donoratico four with which New Zealand won a gold medal at the Mexico Olympics weighed 1311 b when it came into us for repairs, whereas our standard four weighed 129 Mb. On the weight theory our boat should have been faster than the ‘fastest boat in the world.’

“The national association is ; getting a bit carried away J when it’s talking about hiring | a boat when New Zealand has had great success with' wooden boats.” Mr Stiles said. “It should be noted that the first three places in the eights at Lucerne were all filled by conventional boats.” ] State aid Mr Stiles said that huge I State aid was being given to! build the new type of boats. | About $42,000 was spent on the original prototype alone by the West Germans for a single event —the Munich i eights. “If these boats are taster, then other countries won’t]! have a show without the' necessary funds to keep up with the boat-building race “In a country like West); Germany where there is]! huge State aid, there are

70,000 * rowers compared with a mere 1500 or 1600 in New Zealand. The national rowing coach (Mr R. Robertson) said he differed with these opinions[ [as there was a need to i “move with the times.” 'Try them' "We are not sure whether] these boats are in fact bet-] ■ter, but we certainly cannot 1 ' be worse off, and if we] never try out these things.. I we’ll never know how good! ' they are. “There is so little now be-] tween the crews of the top ] rowing countries and every : ]little advantage helps. We] ] cannot afford to rely on past! ] performances and let other! I countries go ahead of us. ] i “A tremendous amount ofjj [ research is being done into | boat-building by people like [ Empacher at Heidelberg, and ] Iwe would be foolish not to ] Take advantage of it.” Mr Robertson said that a] I lot of crews had raced the!] Empacher boats at Lucerne L and New Zealand would! almost certainly try one out]’ !at the Nottingham world]* championships in August.] “Leasing one is the best way]! to find out how good they I are. I “We can afford to try it.is out this year with the Mon-] 1 treat Olympics not until late]) 1976 and then use another, boat then if the Empacher 1i ] doesn’t work out,” he said. <