ROWING ABROAD

Evening Star, Issue 22209, 11 December 1935, Page 6

ROWING ABROAD

AMATEURISM IK ENGLAND SOCIAL ASPECT DEVELOPED “ The most noticeable feature about rowing in England is that that it is strong both financially and numerically, and that it is truly an amateur sport,” said Mr A. C. Norclen, prominent Auckland oarsmen, when he returned from a trip Home recently. There was not a taint of professionalism, rowing being so pre-eminently amateurish that, although many of the larger clubs employed ex-professional oarsmen as watermen, the latter were not permitted to instruct any crew training for a regatta, for a month prior to the race. The social activities of Thames clubs were developed to a much greater degree than in either New Zealand or Australia. The English clubs were more like great institutions than mere sporting organisations, and a very friendly spirit prevailed among them. Facilities were available at all times for ,the provision of meals and refreshments, and every club had its own bar. The result of this development of. the social aspect was that members retained their interest in the ■ sport far longer than was generally the case in New Zealand. In many clubs there were active rowing members aged up to 76 years, and middle-aged men predominated. In Mr Norden’s opinion it was this latter class which formed the backbone of the English rowing clubs. Ladies’ rowing was very popular in England, and_ women had their own clubs and equipment. There were also combined clubs with members of both sexes actively engaged in rowing. Many oarswomen were wonderful scullers, and this form of the sport was quite as popular among them as rowing in crews of four or eight. Besides the ladies’ rowing clubs there were numerous clubs fostered by commercial institutions. Many hanks and commercial houses had their own staff rowing'clubs, and there wore, in addition, clubs owned and maintained by private individuals. “ There were two great coaches in the London Rowing Club,” said Mr Norden, “ and their records faced each other on- the walls of the clubhouse.” The better known of the two was Steve Fairbairn, the originator of “ Fairbairnisjn,” the style rowed by the victorious London crew at Melbourne last year. The other was Mr J. Beresford, who coached some of the New Zealand army oarsmen during the war. Beresford was opposed to Fairbairnism, and the two styles were rowed in the same club, a spirit of friendly rivalry existing between the exponents of the systems. The widespread use of training tanks for coaching purposes was favourably commented on by Mr Norden. From eight to 16 men could he accommodated in these tanks, the coach walking along a plank between the crews, in the manner of a slave-driver in the galleys, to correct each man’s faults in turn. By an ingenious arrangement of channels, the water was kept dead for each “ catch.” Swivel rowlocks were most generally used in England, and there was a general swing away from the use of poppets. > _As regards Australian rowing, Mr Norden said that_ he had been forcibly struck by the wide use of Gladstone skiffs for sculling, these being a very wide type of boat, and, unlike the ordinary sculler, able to bo dragged across a beach. It was also a low-priced boat, and was ideal for newcomers to the sport, being both safe and comparatively sturdy. Mr George Towns, the prominent Sydney sculler, was fostering this branch of the sport. While in Australia, Mr Norden found the supporters of the Balmain Club (Sydney) most sympathetic toward the proposal of more Australian crews visiting the Dominion. But the expense was thought to be almost prohibitive. It was estimated that it would cost approximately £1,200 to send an eight to New Zealand.