Eight bounces back from misfortune

Press, 27 April 1989, Page 52

Eight bounces back from misfortune

By

TIM DUNBAR

Jim Little and his New Zealand men’s senior B (under 23) rowing eight have bounced back from an unfortunate accident which forced the original stroke man out of the crew. Midway through the five-week training camp at Kerrs Reach, Christchurch — which winds up tomorrow — the stroke, Simon Bell, came off his bicycle after hitting some loose shingle. The accident meant that Bell missed out on the New Zealand team’s expenses-paid trip to the United States. He ended

up in hospital with a pierced leg and minor head injuries. A week’s grace had been given, but the Waikato man did not recover in time and had to be replaced. “It was a hell of a blow,” said the coach, Mr Little, of the accident. Bell was replaced in the crew by his clubmate, David Jefferis, who has gone into two seat with the Union, Christchurch rower, Geoff Perry, moving into the stroke seat. “We were lucky that we had two guys sitting in the boat (Bell and Perry) who were capable of stroking,”

Mr Little said. Perry stroked the New Zealand Universities eight in the World Boat Race in Brisbane last September. When Jefferis was called into the crew on April 15 only a fortnight of the camp remained and he had missed the base training, but the build-up for Seattle has not been too seriously disrupted. “I’m not unduly worried aobut it,” said Mr Little. The eight raced twice last week-end against a composite crew and performed satisfactorily. Its times were between smin 50s and 6min over the 1830 m course against an

outgoing tide. Mr Little said he was reasonable happy with the crew’s progress considering it was the usual situation of trying to do three months worth of training in five weeks. “It is quite a well-balanced boat.” Training has been based around an eight-day cycle with the crew rowing for eight straight days and then having a rest day. The New Zealand team will assemble in Christchurch tomorrow and fly to Auckland and on to the United States on Saturday evening. It will compete by invitation in the Windermere Cup re-

gatta in Seattle on May 6. While the men’s senior B eight and single sculler, Gary McAdam, have been training in Christchurch, the women’s eight and single sculler, Brenda Lawson, have been training in Blenheim under Bill Campbell. The men’s crew is a true senior B eight while the women’s crew, which includes the Olympic bronze medallists, Nikki Payne and Lynley Hannen, is going away as an open eight. The team manager, James Sheehan, said that there will be pressure on the men’s crew to perform in Seattle with a

senior B eight also to race against Australia in a three-test series at Lake Ruataniwha between August 27 and September 2. Because of both age restrictions and performance the same senior B team will not necessarily be named for the home test series. Of the women, Payne. Hannen and Lawson will all stay overseas after the regatta and miss the series against Australia. In Seattle the men’s eight will race against three other .crews, the University of Washington, the University of California (Berkley), and the Italian senior B crew.