In the Boats

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 22, 26 January 1924, Page 18

In the Boats

MOTHES SHIELD

INTER-CLUB RACING

CHAMPIONSHIPS NEXT MONTH.

COMING EVENTS.

January 2fr-Christchurch Kegitt?, lake Forsyth. February 2—Motlies Shield Kegatta, Wellington Harbour. February 12—New Zealand Championship Be; gatta.Picton Harbour. March 1-^Wellington liegatta, Wellington Har. hour. March 2-4—Otago Regatta (probably -Dunedin). April 21—Interprovincial Fours, Picton Harbour;

[By " Shokb.")

"Next Saturday the three local'clubs-, Petone, Star, and Wellington, will coin^ pete for the Mothes Shield. This, shield was presented in 1920 by Mr: Mothes; of Petone, for local inter-club contests, and it has beeiv i/esponaible to a large de-. gree in encouraging rowing on Port Nicholson, and'for stimulating the activities of the clubs. Other than the Redding Shield, which is competed for on opening day, and is more or less of a

"scratch" event, the Mothes Shield is the only trophy competed for by local clubs after the^ season gets under. way. The shield lias been won by Petone and Wellington, and is now in the possession of Wellington. Star, so far, has not been successful in carrying it off, but it remains- to be seen whether their crews on Saturday are strong enough to cap-, tare the shield. This season the contest will be decided at one regatta, instead of at two as has been customary. Some difference, o£ opinion has been expressed at this decision by Petone delegates to the Rowing Association, who desired two regattas-, the first in December, and the second late in January or in February. However, clubs' at the southern end of the harbour, are not.usually favoured with satisfactory traininsr weather in the early part of the season^ whereas the suburban club at that time experi-. ences better conditions. Last season Star made a fair bid for the shield, and after the first regatta were1 some 13 points behind Wellington, the leaders; but at the .second 'regatta the Star crews did rjot do as well as-was expected'of them, and the Wellington men were easily, the winners by a good margin of pomts. Previously the holding of thfc' two resattas gave supporters of Petone an opportunity of seeing the ccews- in action, and the. other fixture was held in Wellington. As the successful conducting of the fixture depends entirely upon° the state of-the .weather on the day of the regatta, if northerly winds predominate on Saturday, the racing will' be held Nit Petone. and if southerly conditions obtain, their the regatta will take place at Wellington. Although thet weather has been very changeable lately, and has been responsible- for the intereferene with training, crews are, in general, fairly fit. Thex earlier part of this season was milder than is usually the case, and this no doubt has been responsible for the gooo cpndition the clubs find themselves in to-day. Entries for thai Mothes Shield have been coining forward well, and there is a prospect trf big fields in the majority of events, so that the public' should he assured in seeiiis "'good racing, with excellent finishes. " At Petone, the races finish in front of the boatshed, from where an excellent vietf may he obtained, and in Wellington the finishino; post is on the northern end of the Taranaki Street Wharf, which affords spectators 'with a fine view of the concluding stages of the events: The position as regards the trophy is that up to the present the WellingtonClub has twice annexed it, and Petone on' one occasion.. The first time the shield was rowed for, in the 1920-21 season, the Wellington Club secured it. Ine next season tile Petone men carried it off, and last season the Wellington Llub again was successful. At the conclusion of the first regatta last season the Wellington Club found themselves in the lead with 39 points, Star next with 26 points, and Petone following with 12 points. The- trophy at that I stage was within the reach of Star, but at an early stage of the second' regatta, in fact, after the first three races which were won by Wellington, that club had a substantial lead of 17 points This they increased, and at the-conclusion of the regatta the points were: Wellington 02.. Star 39, Petone 33.

o , Stf J r s Junior Foot c*-,v at the Mothes Shield Regatta will- be :R. Wakelin \ Sr ] 'r " er«ford (3), F. M. Johns (2), iV. Carroll (bow). The crew will be the same for the Senior Fours, with the exceptwn that R. Fenton will take the bow., s. e.?t; The Junior. Four crew has possibilities, but they will need to do a considerable amqunt 01 training before they do themselves justice. F. Oborn (str) and R. Herd (bow) will be the club s representatives- for the Senior lairs. I his race will be rowed in clinker boats, and the v<ew should stand a good chance, considering theirperformance at Picton: The Maiden £ cw-E- Diehl ( S tr), C. Bluridell (3), H. M'Lean (2), and D. Newton (str)could improve on their training. They are however, a good, combination, and might easily be in at the finish. The ? ,VW^ c by two crews in the Maiden Pairs. The No. 1 crew n \ uDiehl (str)> °- Blvnidell <b°w.)' »n<* the No. 2 crew is W. Stewand Blundell have "had regatta experle."c« wl"|* >v>U stand them in good stead.. The-fa. 1 crew has Been training iairly well, and should give a satisfactory account of itself qn the day of the race. The No. 2 crew is very fit, and is reported to be a good combination. _ The Lightweight Maiden Fours crew , S _M. Carroll (str), A. V. Gordon (A), J. Bentley (2), E. G. Dobson (bow), -the majority of the crew has had *egatta experience, 'and should, if properly trained, be well up at the finish. The ??," th, s ri - I ,c.rf v-Cooke (str), G. Cooper (3), M'Kmley (2), Hinge (bow)-is an untried crew as'-far-as regattas are concerned, but each member has given a good account of himself in 'club racing, and tKeir. prospects are bright. T. Davis (str) and W. Harris (bow) are representing the club in the Junior Double Sculls. They are a good combination, and have been rowing well together, and winning also. Qn their present form they should be very hard I? . V " the Maiden Double Sculls the club will be represented by F; Anyon (str) and J. R. Bentlev. " They have been training consistently, but will have to improve considerably before then- prospects ate considered of tho brightest. J. E. Bentley has been so-

lecfced as the club's representative for the Maiden Single Sculls.- ■

CHAMPIONSHIPS AT PICTON.

On 12th February the most important fixture of the season, the championship regatta, will be held on-Picton Harbour and, judging •from the available information, neither time; nor effort is beiu<* spared.to make the day a success. The course on Queen Charlotte Sound is ideal, and the advantages offered for spectators are also of the best. The programme of events,- which was published in this column last week, includes a variety of races other than the.championship events,, and no doubt clubs which are not represented in the championship fixtures will figure in the other events. As regards championship races, it is practically certain that Port Nicholson clubs will-b e represented; both Wellington and Star will- haye crews fpr at least one event. F. Oborrf and E. Herd • will represent the Star Clulx in the championship pairs. According--to reports, last, season's championship double sculls crew—Molesworth and: St. Clair, Hamilton—are in fine form. . They will again be seen a(r the-championships next, month.

The following crews have been selected to represent the Wellington Clup in the' Mothes Shield contest: —Junior Fours: F. JBognuda (stroke), W. West (3), W. Moye (2), Hurle (bow); Maiden Double Sculls: G. Grace (stroke), P. Mawson (bow); Maiden' Fours- G. S. Bright (stroke), W. Fraser (3), W. Scarf c (2), J. P. D. Johnsen (bow); Junior Double Sculls: C. Symonds (stroke), G. Wilson (bow); Junior Lightweight Fours: Van Slyke (stroke), A. Lekie (3), Warner (2), Ay Wilkie (bow); Maiden Sculls: No. 1, G. Zander; No. 2, G. Grace; Maiden Pairs.:. W. Fraser (stroke), W. Scarfe (bow); Youths' Fours: G. Zander (stroke), Barlow (3) Morris (2), Clark (boNy); Senior Pairs: G. fright (stroke), J. P. Johnsen (bowf; Maiden Lightweight Fours: Van Slyke (stroke); A. Leckie (3), Warner (2), A. Willrio (bow). Training for the regatta has been progressing satisfactorily, and all the crews are very fit. The club is very fortunate in having among its enthusiasts several older members who still take an interest in its activities and help considerably in coaching crews.

PACE IN THE BOAT.

"A crew, if it is to be worth anything in a race, ought to be able to commaud a. rate of' at least 40 to the minute. A crew must gradually be brought up to ita fast stroke, first. by short start? at .an increased rate, and then by longer .pieces of work," ia the opinion of K. C. , -Lehmann, a well-known, rowing air- ■ thority. "Indeed, a crew ought to be practised at a rate slightly faster-than i that which it mqy expect to use during a, race. After you have once rowed 42 reasonably well, you will find it almost i indolence to drive your boat along at 38. The great.point to remember is that while the stroke, increases, the- body swing must be slow. The increase in pace • must be gained by rattling the hands away very fast, by striking the beginning with extremeswiftness, and by driving hard through the waterGreat care, too, must be taken to use the outside hand, well, to . row every stroke right hqme, and to disengage the blade clean from the water. The tendency, as the stroke increases) is always to clip the stroke at the-finish, and, in order to correct this, spepial emphasis must be laid upon the force of the, legwork,^ particularly during the., last three qr^ four inches of the slide. "Ordinary splashing comes from a • rolling, unsteady, boat, and unsteadiness is invariably produced by irregular work performed in a slovenly or a, clumsy fashion. Yet a coach must-, not be too much dismayed by splashing and unsteadiness in the early stages, provided that he can satisfy himself that his men ;ape honestly endeavouring to work. Such a crew is more, promising than many a smooth crew, the members of , which exert not sufficient effort to produce even a roll in the boat. In good time, as the men. get together, splash-ing-will disappear. One special form o£ splashing js more difficult to deal with— I mean the back-splash which comes from the blades as they seize the beginning. An undoubted fault it is, fcid v-its effect must be to;-check pace, but in the earlier part of practice it conies from the effort of the men to' get a sharp grip of the water. At that' tjme it is useless to worry about it, but during the period of polishing. the coach must not neglect it. He must devote himself to perfecting the balance and steadiness of bodies, and the lightness ;of hands, "over the stretcher." Aa'he secures thesp essentials the back-splash will diminish, until finally, when the bodies are perfectly poised and the hands, are as a feather's\weight, it willdisappear altogether, and" the beginning will be not only hard and swiit but absolutely clean.

"To he able to start, at top pressure without a. splash", and to obtain the utmost, pace with the least possible de-' lay, must be the ajjibition of every crew. The moral effect-of getting a t lead is! ' considerable. It is an inspiration to feel that your crew has started clean, and that the men are rowing together, that' the boat is speeding- swift and clean through the water, and, above all, that the other ciewig trailing'in the rear. I say this with a full recollection^ of many races in which a crew; though it Was left behind at the start, has afterwards rowed down and passed its' rival. An unsteady, splashing,- irregular start is 'always- the result of carelessness, and must tbe corrected instantly and with severity; Four' points I must specially impress on those who desire to start fast and well: (a) The blades must-be deeply covered on the first stroke: To tear them along the top of the water i% absolutely futile; (b) the legs- must' drive with particular firmness; (c) the arms must be used for the first two strokes; (d) particular care must be taken to finish the first two strokes fully honie to the chest, and to shoot away the hands with exaggerated, swiftness. Finally, let the men be told to watch stroke's oar for the first two strokes. Whatever happens^ they must start with him. On this occasion, but on no other, is it legitimate for the'crew to have, their 'eyes out of the boat.' ," :

New Year's- Pay at Bluff was chiefly remarkable for a howling gale, and rowing was out of the question (reports an exchange). Next day',, however, the weather had abated, and all the events were got off. The- Diamond Jubilee Fours was the fifst-race, commenced at 7.45 a.m. In this race Otagq did not show up, and, after watching the other crews get well away, they finished the course in leisurety fashion. The junior fours was rowed in a choppy sea, Riverlon heating Otago by half a length after a good race. In the maiden double sculls Otago won by a length and a half,, and j.; tho junior double sculls came second, a. length behind Awarua.