Giant Avon oarsman keen to stay with sculling

Press, 2 April 1980, Page 30

Giant Avon oarsman keen to stay with sculling

By

TIM DUNBAR

There was a very good reason why a little Aramoho sculler had his photograph taken with the winner of the novice singles, Donald Symon (Avon), at the rowing nationals last month. Symon at 203 cm (and 95kg) was close to hatf-a-metre taller than the fourth-placed Aramoho man who apparently wanted a pictorial record he could show off back home with a “that’s what 1 was up against.” “I think he was just trying to embarrass, me.” said Symon on his return from Lake Horowhenua. The 19-year-old Avon sculler was rather bigger than all his rivals in the novice singles. In the heats his time of Smin 2s was-an amazing 41s faster than any other; in the final his winning margin was a mere 15s — still one of the biggest achieved. Still, size in itself did not necessarily give Symon an overwhelming advantage over his rivals. His plastic boat was one of the smallest there and sat very low in the rough water that was such a contrast to tranquil Kerrs Reach. As well as having an unsuitable boat, Symon

had had no racing experience at all in a single scull when he arrived at Horowhenua — after the final he had the grand sum of two races under his belt. And some sceptics at his club had said originally that he was too big for a single and would spend most of his time under the boat. But Symon knew he wasn’t going to let it (sculling) beat him and he was out to “prove ‘ a point” when he raced at Horowhenua. So after just five weeks sculling experience — he had started off in a novice four — Symon raced in the heats at Horowhenua. “After the first 100 m, something was wrong — everybody was behind me.” This turned out to be a very comfortable win with one potential rival in the next lane just about stopping and falling out of his boat when Symon’s blade struck a buoy with a very loud clunk. The final was different. Symon was cold and ner-

vous and his boat was swamping on the way up to the start with water coming out of the riggers. Other scullers had better starts but, after “hitting a few buoys coming out of the blocks” Symon got to the 1000 m with a sizeable lead and maintained it to the finish. He says he had never been confident before the race and in the rough water was more worried just about finishing. “Once in front I just rowed home.” Symon was by no means content with the extent of his victory. He had been looking forward to seeing what he could

do on plain water. “I’d like to think T could have gone .a minute faster,” he said. “Every night I come home from here (Kerrs Reach), I am more tired than after that race.” The giant Avon man also rowed in the novice fours and the intermediate pairs (with Tony Carrington) at the nationals without making the finals. The four, he said, didn’t really click while the pair — “which we could have won” — found the water too rough in the semifinals. Symon, 20 in May, is comfortably the youngest Lincoln College student in the final year of his agricultural commerce degree. Living there has meant a lot of travel for training and over Christmas, when

he worked on a farm in Glenroy, his trips to Christchurch were temporarily. halted altogether. He says he enjoys sculling — an unusual event for novices — and over the winter his main objective is “tidying the act up- a' bit.” Symon admitted: “I’ve so much to learn about sculling — I know so little.” But Symon will- be playing his future career by ear. “The big names in New Zealand are oarsmen, not scullers.' I’d like to stick with smaller boats, though.” While keeping up with the sculling, Symon’s thoughts will be more closely directed on his’ winter sport, rugby, over; i the next few Almost naturally a lock, 1 he was in the Canterbury under-20 team last year and thinks he has a good chance of making High School Old Boys seniors thi.; season.