Maadi to Wanganui

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 3

Maadi to Wanganui

Wanganui Collegiate turned on a display of powerful eight-oared rowing io complete the Maadi CupSpringbok Shield double when the Newmans Air New Zealand secondary schools championships ended at Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel, yesterday. The big Wanganui Collegiate crew dominated the under 19 A eights, final from the start.

For most of the distance Wanganui Collegiate sat about half a boat’s length ahead of Westlake Boys’ High School, which was attempting a hat-trick of Maadi Cup wins.

With 250 m left Collegiate lifted its rating from 38 to 40, then 42 strokes per minute and pulled away for a comfortable win.

The regatta was supposed to finish on Saturday but the rough water conditions caused a number of delays and finally a postponement of the last 13 of the 29 finals

until yesterday. Because of the extra day necessary to complete racing some schools, notably Hauraki Plains College, had to scratch crews from both grand and petite finals. They had been unable to change their travelling plans. Apart from the Maadi Cup, the most sought after trophy in New Zealand schools rowing is the Springbok Shield for the boys’ under 19 A fours and the grand final on Saturday was probably the most dramatic in the 20-year history of the event.

Marlborough Boys’ College had three survivors from the crew which had been a desperately close second the year before and had high hopes that the crew would bring the shield back to the South Island.

Unfortunately the Marlborough crew did not complete the 2000 m distance, making a sudden exit from the course with 250 m left to row and letting the Wanganui College four of Willie Rathbone, Alastair Mackintosh, Guy Melville and Clayton Potts through for an unexpected victory. Marlborough obviously set out to bum off the rest of the eight-boat field in the first 1000 m. By that stage it was a good two lengths clear.

With 300 m left Marlborough veered out of its lane next to the bank and the coxswain could do

nothing to get it back on course.

The crew hit the large buoy at the 1750 m mark, the rowers tipped into the water and their dreams of the Springbok Shield foundered.

Wanganui Collegiate went on to win the race by four lengths from Wanganui High School with Westlake Boys’ High School third. The under 16 girls’ fours was won convincingly by the Rangiora High School combination of Leanne Hodson, Andrea Martin, Keryn Vella and Amanda Hodson. All four had won gold medals as members of the Cure women’s novice eight at the national regatta three weeks earlier. Two of the 1000 m races were eight-oared events and Christchurch school crews performed creditably in both, St Andrew’s getting second in the under 15 eights and Christ’s College filling the same position in the under-16 eights. Christ’s College would have won a title had it not been for a “crab” caught 100 m out from the finish which allowed Hamilton Boys’ High School to take the race on the line by little more than a metre. St Andrew’s went on to greater things yesterday when its under 15 four, made up of half the eightoared crew, won the final by nearly two lengths from Westlake, and their No. 2 four won the petite final.