Rowing Matters.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 253, 29 January 1889, Page 3

Rowing Matters.

extraordinary STATE OF AFFAIRS One of the most extraordinary phases that has occurred in the history of any of our local athletic clubs has been reached by the Gisborne Rowing Chib in connection with the appointment of a representative crew to row against Napier. How it all comes about it is hardly neeess.ry to add. The fact remains that a special meeting of the Club has beeu called for to night, the crew selected declining to row unless they have the full confidence of all the members. The position is a most unique one, and we hardly know whether to admire or condemn the action of the crew—respect for the Selection Committee ought at any rate to have induced them to go into thing with a good heart and English spirit, a contempt for the cowardly attacks of anonymous writers ought only to have urged them on to more untiring exertions, and the confidence of the other members ought to have been depended on just as one set of gentlemen always rely on the straightforwardness of any other set of gentlemen. As the matter now stands three or four valuable days will have been lost when the crew should have continued in active training. After having bad their choice limited the Selection Committee picked what they deemed the best crew to be had in the circumstances—those who do not agree with the Committee have the privilege of fair criticism, and the crew would also be a lot of milksops if they could not take fair criticism in good part; a certain kind of “ criticism ’’ they would act more wisely to take no notice of. Now that matters have gone so far, we should advise every member of the Club to attend the meeting to-night, to stifle their own private opinions, support those whom they have entrusted with a most unenviable task, and in every way act as gentlemen should do. There can be only one honorable result of the meeting. It tbe members generally do not unitedly support the crew selected, and that crew immediately resume its training, tbe outcome will be an insult to tbe Selection Committee, a disgrace to ths Olub and a sure cause for all outsiders becoming disgusted with everything connected with rowing, at least so far as the Gisborne Club is concerned. Therefore we repeat there is only one honorable course—no member with any self respect would after what has occurred consent to displace any of the four who should now be in active training. Far better that Gisborne should be beaten—and that is far from a certainty—than that its rowing annals should be disgraced. It is only a few seasons back that the local representative crew was ” chaffed ” from when they were selected until the day of the race, and even many Gisborne people were offering big odds against them, but when it came to the test Gisborne beat Napier just as they liked, and some of those who bad been so ready to decry the local crew lost heavily in any case in which they bad the courage to back their opinions.