Avon crews have chances

Press, 23 February 1978, Page 32

Avon crews have chances

Hints of the prospects for the top Avon crews in tlie national titles should be given when they compete :n the Auckland championships at Lake Karapiro tomorrow and on Saturday. The national regatta does not begin until March 5 but the club’s senior oarsmen, together with the junior four, are making their accustomed early arrival at the North Island venue for their final build-up which will also oiler a chance to get acclimatised to the humidity. Avon’s senior coxed four (David Lindstrom, Ivan Sutherland. Ross Lindstrom and Jeff Lopas) is attempting to retain the Boss Rooster trophy and give the club tlie title for a record fifth year in succession.

Tlie major dangers to this crew and the senior eight, intent on winning back the title it lost to Petone last year, will come from Waikato and Petone and both those clubs will be full force at the Auckland championships. Mr Fred Strachan, the senior Avon coach, said he was “pretty satisfied” with the progress of the crews when they wound up the Kerrs Reach section of their training this week. This in spite of “unkind” weather conditions, low tides and an excessive amount of weed which have caused a few problems. He is particularly happy with the progress of the eight which he says is going better than any of the other big boats the club has crewed ini recent years. “It’s bladework and timing is superior to that of the 1976 eight (which won the

title) and the question whether they match th rugged strength of that crew "They are certainly as , neat a crew as any eight I we’ve had in the the last five I or six years.” Mr Strachan expects al! the major crews to come on ■ well in its week at Karapiro I before the nationals begin with the oarsmen “free of all I their work worries.” The big upset of the CanI terbury championships two 'weeks and a half ago was ' the second placing of the top Avon crew in lhe coxed | fours, beaten by the club’s i No. 2 crew for tlie second I time in the space of a few : days. 1 But it seems that Dave i Lindstrom and company are now on the up again after their demoralising losses. Mr Strachan said that the crew improved a lot over the last two weeks and had a particularly good row on Monday night. Lindstrom, a possible stroke for the New Zealand eight at the world championships later this year, actually struck a low ebb a while back and was spelled from the club eight for "a wee while” but is now’ apparently back to his old self again. The coxless four (Sam Le Compte. Tony Brook, Duncan Holland and Steve Donaldson) has struck a few steering problems at the Reach and experimented with a tandem rig for a while but the coach expects them to be all right once they are on a buoyed course. He rates them a “very much faster crew” than that of last year and that 1977 crew’ finished a very creditable second at the nationals.