Venuses of Karapiro fail to impress

Press, 6 November 1978, Page 15

Venuses of Karapiro fail to impress

Television and Radio

Being a keen although nervous student of femininity in all its aspects, 1 decided that the programme to review over this week-end would be coverage by “Sport on One” of the women’s rowing finals on Lake Karapiro. After all. it is not everyday that one gets the chance, so 1 thought, to see world-class woman rowers, their bronzed limbs gleaming; in the sun (even on myi black - and - white set),; superbly-proportioned thighsi and calves moving almost!

balletically in unison, bosoms; swelling with endeavour as! their owners skim their frail • craft across the water; and particularly it is not the case that you get to see this every - day on Lake Karapiro. So I, settled down in front of myi set on Saturday for what! turned out to be an after-i noon of disappointment. Women track athletes con-; trive to look amazingly allur-i ingly and distinctively fe-| minine. I mean, nobody; who was not suffering from I a serious perceptual disorder! would ever have confused; Wilma Rudolph with Peter! Snell. But women rowers; both from a distance and! fairly close up, tend to look'

like men rowers. I am sure they don’t when they are out 1 of their boats, but they certainly do while they are in I them. 1 think something should ; be done about this, if rowing ■ is to become a televisual - sport like weight-lifting or ■ gymnastics (ah, Ludmilla : Tereschkova! 1 may have .’not have spelled your name ;; correctly, divine Ludmilla. ■ but you and 1 are beyond ,(spelling). I don’t go so far: >las to suggest that women J rowers in world finals should

■ wear distinctively national ; I underwear, although 1 would ■go that far if I thought the suggestion would be taken: ■iseriously, but perhaps a long, flowing Edwardian dress and : !a graciously trailing parasol! (should become the women(rower’s uniform. i It might slow the times: down a bit, but they are; (slower than the men any-1 | way, so why not go for a bit I lof glamour, so that women’s: ■ rowing can transcend the (mundane arena of sport and [enter the sphere of Art? ■ The disadvantage that wo- ! men’s rowing shares with : men’s rowing is that rowing [does not lend itself in-; herently to television as a

1, r( spectacle. The shots that are! a taken from the camera; eipositioned near the water-; ejine convey some sense of! i,, the effort and speed in-! J volved, but once the pror.ducer pulls back to a wide ti;shot, the boats seem to; j crawl across the water like _ so many multi-legged insects.; However, given the inescapable difficulties involved, -I Television One are to be coniljgratulated for a thoroughly d|professional presentation of e I this fairly important sport- ( riling event. In fact, I have only one! di criticism of Television One ■ J lover last week-end, and that: mis that they put on what; to be a superb Rod s; Stewart programme at 2.35! eion Sunday morning. I gather! -jtheir excuse is that it was; tithe prelude to some footy! si match which we were bound 1 e to win' anyway, and which! d j there was no point in staying ! up for. - Let us have Rod Stewart fi I repeated as soon as possible,' glat an hour when decent-' -(people are awake -and sober,! a or awake, anyway. I

By

A. K. GRANT

POINTS OF VIEWING