Lightweights fight for seats in N.Z. eight

Press, 5 March 1987, Page 42

Lightweights fight for seats in N.Z. eight

From

TIM DUNBAR

in Twizel

Speculation about which rowers will win seats in the first New Zealand lightweight eight to be sent overseas added interest when the national championships continued at Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel, yesterday. Repechage day — traditionally fairly low-key — lacked nothing in spirited racing from lightweights awaiting the announcement of the men’s eightoared crew to compete in next month’s Australian championships. The resurgence of lightweight rowing — boosted by international competition in last year’s Edinburgh Commonwealth Games and the world championships at Nottingham — is evident in the high number seeking national selection. Mr Fred Strachan, the convener of national selectors, noted yesterday that they had received over 50 nominations from male lightweights. “In the old days if you got 20 you’d be bloody lucky.” Everything will be a little rushed for those selected in the eight; the crew will be named on Saturday, assemble for training in Christchurch almost immediately and leave for Australia on March 21. The Australian regatta will be at Lake Barrington, Tasmania, over the first few days of April.

Mr Strachan said he would not be at all surprised if all crew members went straight to Christchurch, without diverting to their respective homes on the way. Coaching the eight will be Avon’s Doug Burrowes who has good reason for keeping an eye on the respective lightweight fours and pairs at Ruataniwha.

Mr Burrowes coached Avon to a national title in the champion lightweight coxless fours last March and this year’s crew — with an American import, Tom West, the only newcomer — will probably have Waikato and Canterbury as its greatest obstacles to more gold coats.

While Waikato and Canterbury No. 1 had gone straight through to the final from the elimination

heats Mr Burrowes’ crew had to qualify from yesterday’s repechages, doing so with a six-length victory over Waikato No. 2. The Avon coach was happier with the row, but said the crew "still need to come off the sticks better.”

The Canterbury club will now have two fours in that final as well as three combinations — filling exactly half the lanes — in the men’s lightweight coxless pairs final. Mr Holland, delighted to get three crews through, said that boating so many pairs gave more club members a chance to shine with the up coming trip to Australia. The last six places in the men’s champion single sculls semi-finals were found with Richard Newey (Whakatane), Mark Simmons (Auckland), John Cook (Blenheim), Conrad Robertson (North Shore), and Des Healey (Union, Wanganui) all required to win their repechages and Brett Cooper (Waikato) benefiting from a subsequent scratching. Dale Maher (Union, Christchurch), the lightweight sculling champion, was eliminated after finishing second to Newey. Good performances by Christchurch crews continued, the Canterbury premier women’s coxless pair of Jacqui Duncan and Linda Ross making the final by winning their repechage and the Avon premier coxless pair of Andrew Taylor and Steve Donaldson by a second placing in their race.

Avon will have two crews in the final of the men’s novice eights, thought to be without precedence by any club, and both Avon and Canterbury have two crews in the novice fours’ semi-finals. The Union intermediate eight, putting in some neat bladework, won praise by qualifying for the senior eights final.

Another crew from the province through to the finals from yesterday was the Canterbury No. 2 women’s novice four while one of the Akaroa sculling brothers, John Stuart, has progressed to the semi-finals of the hotly contested intermediate singles event.