ROWING NOTES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 298, 18 December 1909, Page 3

ROWING NOTES.

(By "Tingle.")

The crews to represent the Blenheim Rowing Club at Picton on New > Year's Day have been doing solid work during the past fortnight, and should be in very good trim by thetime the convincing day arrives.; teo far the youths have shown better form than the Juniors and Maidens, but in all three crews the recovery-is very faulty, the Maidens being the worst offenders in this respect, no doubt owing, to the bad example of, stroke^ ■■■**• ■■•'. , . , -, Stroke in the Juniors gets his hands 1 away well, and is a fine dashing oar. No. 3 spoils a fine catch by letting his shoulder go at the finish and rowing his hands down into his lap instead ot finishing with shoulders square, and dropping, the hands smartly. No. I |is very late in striking tne water through allowing his hands to sink with the body when swinging forward for the catch. Bow does not get ior- ! ward far enough. He strikes the I water almost opposite his poppet, and 1 compromises with an extra long swing back, which puts an undue strain on the abdominal muscles in the recovery, ~.,,■ i The Maidens are an ill-balanced crew, three of them being tall, reachy men, whilst the fourth is on the short side. I think the crew would be improved by the substitution of Eckford for No. % ' As remarked before, stroke sets his men a bad example in hanging on the recovery, ancf he also rushes his slide too much. He is inclined to let bis hands go down into the bottom of the boat when swinging forward. No. 3 seems to have an idea that the crew should take the time from him. This is quite a mistake. He also fails to thrust his hands down his body at the finish of the stroke, and consequently does not clear the water when coming forward. ■ No. 2 is so slow on the recovery that he is all behind at the vital part of the stroke, the ''catch"; the consequence being that stroke gets more than his fair share of the work. Bow is rowing in a position new to him, and does not take as kindly to it as to the stroke side. The "feather" is the weight which oppresses him. ' The Youths are rowing very well now, an improvement: being effected by-stroke and No. 2 changing positions. - Fi-eeth^ the present stroke, has a nieef: easy style, and; sets, his men a splendid time;, but he 4 should1 pay more attention to getting his hands,, away. No^ 3 does his fair : sjiare every row, and gives every promise of staying the distance. No. 2 is more at home in his new position, and uses his weight with greater confidence. Bow is rowing quite nicely now, but suffers from- the club complaint, ' 'recovery.'' All three crews would do much better if they finished one stroke before commencing another. , ■ The Seniors have been doing' a. lot of hard work under the supervision of Mr George Wareham, and they have fined down with almost startlingsuddenness. With more than a month to go to the championship date, it looks as if the men will row on the light side, but Mr Wareham no doubt is the best judge ,as there is not a more experienced trainer, in the Dominion to-day. The crew have been rowing under difficulties lately, as the boat in which they won two championships is almost in pieces, and rowing in her has been anything but pleasurable. 'It was quite evident that something was amiss, as there was an inertness about the crew, totally foreign 'to- their usual work. Instead of that beautiful rhythmic time,'and crisp clean catch, the rowing was slovenly throughout, No. 2 being decidedly the worst offender, his rowing at times being shocking, whilst bow seemed mostly engaged in taking soundings. No. 3's. rowing was like the curate's egg—parts of it.we're excellent. Even the inperturbale Jackson remarked that "the old boat is not the boat she* was ten years ago." However, all that is altered now, for the crew have commenced rowing in a new boat built by Norton, of Wellington, to the older of several enthusiastic supporters of the exchampions. The swivel rowlocks supplied with her proved too small for

the oafs used by the crew, and the rowlocks off the old boat are being used temporarily until matters are mended. She looks a very nice boat, but is very low in the'water when loaded —too , low for my liking—but Norton is noted for seating his crews as close to the water, as possible, in contradistinction to Australian builders, who usually indulge in a^generous allowance.of freeboard. v I notice that the Star Boating Club have recently procured a boat from Greenland^ of Melbourne, for their senior crew. She is a'sister boat to the one in the Blenheim shed. , The Picton crews, so a correspondent -tells .me'r are showing very good form, particularly the Juniors. This crew is one of the finest junior combinations of recent years, and would hold its own in.senior company. The seniors are undergoing a thoi'ough preparation, and being all experienced watermen, should be a hard crew to beat in rough water. And speaking of rough water reminds me that the championship umpire and starter who judge the suitability of the water for racing are both Picton men. Of all the Blenheim members of the Marlborough Rowing Association, only one (Mr McKinley) has been appointed, to' a responsible position at the championship regatta. On the last occasion when the regatta was held in Picton the umpire.and- starter were both Wellington men, and the change to local officials, who must necessarily be partisans, is a retrograde movement. Picton has yet to live down the howl of indignation which arose through the action of partisan officials in ordering the Champion Fours to b,e rowed in a rough sea, which deprived a splendid Canterbury crew of any chance they might have had of winning in 1900.