ROWING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1704, 22 March 1913, Page 12

ROWING.

{By Merouri'.J BIG DAY ON HOME WATERS* To-day—N.Z. Championship -Regatta, Wellington. Prospects of a Great Regatta, To-dav, should the Fates be kind (for "Fates' read "Bates"), tho publio of Wellington will bo afforded an opportunity of seeing all tho crack crows of the Dominion pitted against each other in tho annual struggle for the aquatic championships of Now Zealand. Very complete arrangements have been made to ensure tho success of the meeting, and the response. from the clubs affiliated to the N.Z.A.R.A. has been such that it can safely be said tha., _provided tho weather conditions are favourable, the regatta will bo tho most interesting yet hold in Port Nicholson, if not in New Zealand. The question of venue will be settled at 9 o'clock this morning, and the public will be advised' of tho locale of the course to bo used by means of flags flown from the post office. A blue' flag will indicate tho northerly and a red one tho southerly course. In the former case the crews will race along the Ngahauranga foreshore, finishing off Koro Koro, and, in the latter, tlio commencing ground will be from various points in Evans Bay; across Oriental Bay, and finishing between the Queen's and Taranaki Street' Wharves.

The Blue Riband of New Zealand Rowing.

Tho big eyent of the day is, as always, the Champion Fours, starting at 1.30 p.m. For this there are eeven crews starting, and the issue is generally held to be between the Wellington Club crew and Wanganui Union, but every one of the other entrants has its supporters,- and each is a crew likely to spring a surprise on tho cognoscenti. The Wanganui quartet is the 6ame, with one exception, as the crew that won that great race against the pick of the Australian crews at Hobart.

The personnel of the Wellington combination must command respect, including as it does in its number three champions, viz.—A. Jackson and the Hegglun Brothers, whoso doughty ■ deeds in the service of the Picton and Blenheim Clubs need no detailing here. ' The Star ■ Club's crew, stroked by the veteran champion A. D. Bayfeild, and with another, champion, W. E. C. Oswin, as bow, has come along of late in a surprising manner in its rowing, and if it can race up to its training form, must 111 ako a good showing—its biggest handicap being an excess of "Anno Domini" in the rowing agss of its component parts. The Canterbury representatives, the Christchurch Union crew, have local wins to their credit, while the Kawatiri quartet, rowing in a new boat built for the occasion by ex-cliampion William Webb, have been preceded by glowing reports. In a recent trial on its home waters, this crew is reported as having done tfie two miles in llmin. ssec., which, even allowing a generous margin for current, is a tremondous performance. It is in fact rather too tremendous to carry conviction.

The Single Sculling Aspirants. Tho next race in point of publio interest is generally the Single Sculls. For this there are no fewer than nine entries. Included among these is C. E. Stono (St. George's, Auckland), for the past four years champion of the Dominion, a i«cord of which he may justly be proud, as 6uch a succession of victories has never before been held by one man. On this occasion his title is, according to Wanganui roports, to be very seriously challenged by young Sharpe, of whom rumour speaks very highly. During the week, the Wanganui Union man had a very satisfactory try-out- with W. Webb,' and his Wanganui supportera are in no whit, daunted by Stone's 1 formidable record. The Ot'ago sculler, Iferr, is a pupil'of veteran '.'Jack" M'Grath's, and has a long list of successcs on his'home waters, both in fcinglo and double sculling. .The other entrants are practioally' unknown outsido their own domains, but, among them, there is sure to be some good sculling material whose advent into championship sculling will bo worth 1 watching. )

The Pairs and Doubles. . The Champion Pairs, in the absence of the present champions, tho Picton duo, looks very open, but,' here again, tho prospects of a win for Wanganui Union look bright. ; Seven crews are entrants in the champion double soulls, the most fancied being the Stone Brothers (St. George's R.C., Auckland), Akaroa, and once again tho Wanganui Unions, the present champions. Tho Akaroa men are at a disadvantage , through tho regrettablo destruction of their boat through the burning ->f their club shed and plant early- in tho week, but if they can procure a suitablo boat they must command respect from their season's performances at the Canterbury regattas. This will be a splcn.did race, and the probablo result takes a deal' of pioking, but "Mercury" confesses to a liking for the chances of tho Wanganui men. ' v

Anticipation and Forecasts. > So,- to sum up, "Mercury" ventures a forecast for the four • championship events, thusly :— ' { Sours—Wanganui Union. Pairs—Wanagnui Union. Double Sculls—Wansanui Union. Singlo Soulls—Stone (St. George's, Auckland). The Lesser Evonts, It would bo a bold man who would venture upon a selection of probable winners for the other events on tho programme. A glance at the number of entrants in each race will show why—thus:—Maiden Fours, eleven crews j Maiden Pairs, Boven crews; Maiden Double Sculls, seven crews; Youths' Fours, ten crews; Junior Fouii (clinker), ten crews; Junior Fours (Bost and Best), seven crews'. What of the Locals? In each of these events tho local olub's crews should shape handily. ' In the junior fours each of the three has n strong representation. The Petono men have wins at Picton and Christchuroh, the Stars have beaten Petone on their own water, and the Wellingtons have their recent Wanganui performances as a hall mark of merit, In tho maidens the best of the local crews would appear to bo the Star quartet—a cvew with undoubted pace, whioo if. it flan stand tho ( strain of a hard race on its outside position—a big disadvantage with eleven crews competing, if there is any wind—must bo in at the death when tho finishing-gun goes. In the Maiden Pairs, too, the Star duo appears the most formidable of the local competitors, and this crew has its Pictou win to give it confidence. The Vagaries of Youth. Tho Youths' Fours is. as is always tho oase in this raoo, very open. None of tho homo crews are very formidable from tho standard of good rowing form, but they have be n infusing a good deal of energy into their work, and, if rough, get a fair amount of pace. The Wanganui youths come well accredited, and if they are as good as report says, should nearly win, but the racing strength of these youths' crew.-, was ever hard to estimate. Youth will havo its fling, and this (ling sometimes leads to strango reversals of form in boat racing, which, as injowing as in other things, one cannot expect old heads on young slioulders, is perhaps only to be expected. Anyhow, "Mercury" declines -to commit himself to a tip in a race between seven youths' lours.

The 'Varsity Boat R.icc. l'or sheer sensation and dramatir, tension the finish of iiiis year's 'Varsil > boat raco stands alone in tho history of tho race. Even tho lier.drheat, nwa.v uack ill ISGO." must have licked some of tho excitement of last week's scene, tor in that cast* the croivu were loclcoil together over tho final singes of tho journey, while in the present instance Oxford's win was (■lie result of a iihonomcnal sprint vliicli literally plucked victory from Cambridgo at. a limn when men tho most sanauino of Oxford's supporters must liavo considered the rac." well lost. Certainly Cambridge must liavo crumbled very' badly to have had tno lead IM yavtlq from Inma unit then lo Imvo been boaton by throa-quartera ot a length.

but this in no way detraots from tho sterling merit of I lie Oxford performance and if anything it would add to the dramatic voluo of the scene. Peculiar interest nttaohed to the fixture this year, and especially to the Cambridge crew from tho fact that Australians and Australian methods figured largely in tho race. Owing to tho success of Ine Australian Henley craw, Cambridge, hitherto by far tho more conservative in rowing of the two universities, made a remarkable volte-faco in deciding to adopt tho type of centre-seated boat and elioii; oars, aa used in .Australia, together, of course, with the alteration in style necessitated by the oliange. The result of tu-. race has justified tho experiment. Cambridge did not win, but they got closer to it than they have done in years past, and that on but a ehort acquaintanceship with tho now systoji. Since the original orews were pioked quite a number of changes havo been made in their personnel, but the latest English files give the names as under:— OXFORD. et. lb. E. R. Burgess (Magdalen) (bow) 11 18 2. C. L, Baillieu (Magdalen) .. 12 51 3. R. P. Hnnkinson (New College) 11 11* 4. H. K. Ward (New College) ... 12 7} 5. A. H. M. Wedaerburn (Bailllol) 13 5} 6. A'. F. E. Wiggins (New College) 12 11 j 1. L. Q. Wormald (Magdalen) ... 12 81 E. D. Horsfall (Magdalen) (stroke) v 12 6 H. B. Wells (Magdalen), cox) 9 D CAMBRIDGE. et. lb. 8. E. Swann (Trinity Hall) (bow) 11 8 2. R. S. Shovo (First Trinity) ...... 12 6 3. L. A. Pattinson (Jesus) 12 8 4. W. M. Askwith (Corpus) 13 6i 5. H. a. Roper (Sidney) .............. 12 7 6. E. N. Sowell-Eogers (Gains) ... 12 0 7. C. E. V. Buxton (Third Trinity) 11 12i ' G. E. Tower (Third Trinity), (stroke) U B L. E. Eidley (Jesus), (cox) ...... 3 1 Of these three are Anstralians-two, Baillieu and Ward, being in the Oxford boat, and the third, Pattinson, In the Cambridge.