In the Boats

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 108, 3 November 1923, Page 18

In the Boats

WHY NOT ROWING?

CONTESTS WITH AUSTRALIA

IMPORTANCE OF CLUB RACING.

COMING EVENTS. November 10—Petone R.C., Trial Pairs. November It)— Star 8.C., Senior and' Junior Fours. November 10—Wellington R.C., Kenipthorne Fours.

(By " Stroke.")

Favoured with a fair share of ' fine weather, the .local clubs have made a ;ood start, and the season's programme Jf events is no%v in full swing. Club racng- is engaging the' attention of meniT» Jers, and as the club races are the first iteps to regatta representation, the importance of these events cannot be too itrongly stressed.' The success of the ndividual, his club, the association to vhich his club is affiliated, and that asiociation, which, with the various other Lssocia-tions form the life blood o/the >arent body, ia all dependent indirectly in the amount of interest displayed by ;ach_ and every member of a club. Enhusiastic members make an active club ; ive clubs make a live association. Yet t is in the ciub that the young oarsman eceives his first training and instruc--1011, which are later, when he has reachid senior class, to qualify him for local, irovincial, or national representation. Cach -additional crew entered for a club ace means better competition, makes he laurels, of victory a greater prize, nd, necessarily, improves the standard t' rowing. A club which is keen and ncourages competition among its memiers along the right lines is filling a leeded^ pkco in the sport. A club that 3 lax in its own activities is of no use o the sport,, and may as well be dead. he practice of fostering and supporting lub competition is of vital importance! t warrants the utmost attention and onsideratj.on from the club executive fficprs, and should have the wholelearted and willing support of' its merniers. So far as this season is concerned, fol3\vers of the sport havo reason to be atisfied with the interest that has been hown by members of local clubs. Peorie and Wellington are particularly live this year, and the manner in which he season has commenced augurs well or its continued success.. The pro;ramme of club events has started with . swing, and to judge by the interest nd enthusiasm displayed, Wellington, lubs should, give a better account of hemselves at inter-provincial regattas his year. . MATTERS OF CONTROL. The annual meeting of delegates of the few Zealand Amateur Rowing Association was held last week, and, as far as ho management of -the sport is conerned, everything points to success. It s very gratifying to-note that.the quesion of New Zealand being represented >v oarsmen at the Olympic Games has tot been overlooked, and the fact that he association has every hope of sendng a crew away with the"New Zealand earn will surely be information received .vith welcome. Reporting to the meeting, the hon secretary (.\l r . A. D. Bayfield) mentioned that though New Zealand had no ' outstanding sculler at the present time, there were eight men in New Zealand who, he -estimated, were quite fit and competent to compete against an eight in any other country. Ho referred to the , 'Digger" eight; that won on the faeine, and said- that if placed against any other eight in New Zealand it would show very little superiority, which fact spoke very well for the stand- j aid of rowing here generally. It was I not to be forgotten that to send a team of rowing men away would be very expensive (costing about £350 per man) but the ten men selected would probably also include a sculler. However, he thought that oarsmen would have an excellent chance of being included' in the , The: knowledge that oarsmen will probably make the trip should have a decided effect on this season's rowing and no doubt the competition for championship honours, from which class it is probable that the crew will be, selected,will be very keen. The Olympic Games are to be held next July. In order that the competitors from here should arrive at Paris, the site of the contests with a fair margin of time'to spare, it would be necessary .for them to leave Now Zealand before the close of the present season It will he seen, therefore, that a great deal of time does not remain and matters in connection with the arrangement of the selection of the crew should be kept before the minds of. the council. It is possible that the method of selecting- the crew which in all probability \vill be an eight, will be the same as was adopted upon the occasion of the t f Tlf of New Zealand oarsmen to Australia. At that time the selectors *ere present at the championship re gatta ana p,cked the oarsmen, beinmainly gmded b ,«Q- {om di , pl ™g at the championship meeting. J INTERCOLONIAL CONTESTS. ■■Dissatisfaction was expressed at the me'r/i"""| Of ide.' egll' eS at tha tr^ment New Zealand had received at the hands of the rowing authorities in Yus ted 1 c°ncer"in S the proposals submitM™ / i 6 Zealand Council la *t te,7, T i B 1Oi d!"S ? f inter«»lon!al contests. Included m the proposals was a suggestion that New Zealand should compete in Australian Inter-State races In submitting the proposals, the secrel tery ot the^ New Zealand Association remarked : We understand that our proposas as afiecting- your inter-State eight-car championship has not been thought possible, because the cup pie Muted for this race is for Australian states only. We would like to say it is nob our wish in any way to cause any inconvenience or to suggest any alteration in conditions governing . trophies where such are definitely laj'd down •.• • Our respective footballers, cricketers, runners, and boxers exchange visits, and the championships of the- latter are competed for in the Commonwealthy at different times; why not rowing, lhese contests create public interest and help a great deal to advance amateur sport, and we feel that much good would follow to Australia and New Zealand if .it is possible to carry out our proposals." The New Zealand Association never received an official reply from the conference at Perth, but a Press Association message of .the 7th May stated that at the Inter-State Bowing Conference, New Zealand proposals were defeated on the ground that the whole strength of the Dominion would he pitted against individi-.r^ States. A request miido f w - ,v n Australian-champion-suip to be rowed every two yeare, alter-

nately in New Zealand and Australia, was rejected. . . .

It was pointed out at the meeting of j delegates last week that no official reply had yet been received from Australia in connection with the matter, and the secretary wa 3 instructed to write to the Australian authorities for a reply The attitude of the conference "was adversely commented on by Mr J E \Yiddop, who said he was surprised at the narrow view taken by the Australian States. Were they sports? He. considered it a matter for the New Zealand Council to take up. INTER-COLLEGIATE BOWING. If ha 6 been proposed to negotiate with h 7Tu aS Co"6ges and secondary schools throughout New Zealand with-a cn?W r T e; e? taWi shing rowing in the colleges. It has been pointed out that Wanganm College- and. the Christchurch College are the only colleges where -,w- Ong is still camedVi. An effort is to be made^to get the other secondary schools to cater for the sport. AUSTRALIA'S REPRESENTATIVES. A record season is promised riant throughout South Australia, so far as the sport of rowing is concerned, and judging by reports, there does not seem to belnf doubt among enthusiasts there that when all is said and done the Murray Bridge W^hl WAr be' Sel-l Ct6d t0 8° *> Olympil When Mom-ay Bridge held its opening day the president said that although an open invitation has been broadcasted; to the oarsmen of Australia to send an eight-oared crew to tackle the Murray Bridge crew on the Murray at the opening Function, the challenge was not accepted, and no inter-State~ men put in an appearance. "■• DIFFICULTIES' AT NELSON. The annual general meeting of the Nelson Rowing Club was held in the Institute Rooms last Friday evening Mr. it' tv ner > who Prided, said that the club was on its last legs. During the war it nad received a severe -set-Sack and _ had never been able to regain its' original position. A few enthusiasts had done their best, but interest in rowing in Nelson seemed to have reached a very low ebb. He moved that the members of the Nelson Club agree to sell and dispose to the Boy Sea Scouts' organisation the whole of the club's as"f^. the Price to be £700. It was stated that part of the contract was that the Boy Scout movement should provide reasonable facilities for, and endeavour to encourage and promote the sport of outrigger rowing in Nelson so far as the funds at their disposal would permit. Mr. Milner said that if this agreement with the Sea Scouts was reached it would satisfy the liabilities of the club and would be a means of keeping on foot the sport of outrigger rowing in Ne son. Mr. S. Tyerman said that°the club was not in a bankrupt state. The chief trouble was the want of a decent plant. He would not like to. see Nelson' rowing enthusiasts let gc their crip on their, plant. The facilities for rowing in Jselson were.excellent. He moved as an amendment: "That a" committee be set up to go into the matter and to make a very urgent appeal that the club should continue under its present constitution." This was seconded, and a sub-committee of seven was ,set 'up to go into the question of ascertaining the possibilities of relieving the club's financial position, and to report on the position of the club, to be held in a fortnight. • , v•; THE SEASON IN CANTERBURY. The Canterbeury Towing season opened I auspiciously this year, and as .indications ; point to the fact that the season will be a good one, it is anticipated that the regattas will be the most successful held for many years. The river Avon is reported to be much improved, the heavy rams during the winter having washed much of the sand and mud beyond the training course, and there it has formed a natural dam, which is holding the water up. Sixteen crews are in training for the Canterbury Rowing Club's races. Ihe first fixture, the Presfdent's Fours, which is being competed for the 49th time. Each of the club's crews has the services of a coach. The Akaroa Club opened its season last week, and was favoured with a fine day and good events resulted. The club is expecting to get a maiden sculler and a four from Edwards and Sons for the coming season. Christchurch Union has ordered a new best and best convertible double sculler and pair oar boat from G. Norton, "Wellington. In .opening the season of the Sumner Club last Saturday, the president stated that the past season marked the most successful year the club had experienced. The club had had a hard row to hoe since its reconstruction five years ago. The. value of the club's property might be seen from the fact that it was insured for the sum of £700, yet the membership stood only.at 20. THE IMPORTANCE OF COXING. "The steering of many crews can only be described as execrable," states a writer in the London- "Sportsman," commenting on the Henley Regatta. "In fact, I do not remember ■ seeing anything' so bad as it was in some Taces. To give an instance, which I saw myself, the cox of the Maidenhead crew lost'two lengths by his steering in the final heat of the Thames Cup against First Trinity, Cambridge. He literally tacked up the course, jamming on.his rudder alternatively from side to side, with absolutely no idea what is meant by a light pair of hands. In another case, both strokes in one race appeared, to have delegated their responsibilities to the respective coxswains, who, determined to leave no stone unturned to achieve victory, were both heard calling on their crews "to give her ten" simultaneously. Still, it seems a great pity that more time is not given the coaching of coxswains as well as to the individual members of a crew instead of leaving them to sit in the stern of a boat to pick up- what they- can. Few men are born coxswains, and a vast improvement could be effected if more attention were paid to this branch of the sport." "There is no reason-why the Wairau I Rowing Club should not produce a champion amateur sculler," asserted Mr. W. J. Girling, M.P., at the opening of the Wairau Club's season. The club had a fine opportunity in the river, which lent itself admirably to sculling, and foithe sake of the province's name some j attempt at sculling honours should be made. It was impossible for ue Blenheim Club to turn out a sculler, as the river there, was not at all suitable for training. Mr. Girling said he could not understand why sculling had not been taken up more keenly, especially when the recent important sculling matches on tbe Wairau were calculated to give the sport an impetus. "I trust that, before long, you will turn out a' chain- j pion amateur sculler, and, if he proves himself worthy, he may become the foiemost sculler of the world," concluded Mr. Girling. -A pound of .silk i; produced hv 2300 silkworms.