AQUATICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 9017, 24 October 1892, Page 6

AQUATICS.

OPENING OF THE ROWING SEASON, Ok Saturday afternoon 1 the rowing season was formally opened by the usual demonstration. The weather was delightfully fine, and the water about as near perfection as possible. There were a larger number of boats present than at any previous affair of the kind, and everything went off fairly well, with the exception of a laxity of proper management, which rather marred the carrying out of certain of the evolutions. The time of forming was halfpast two o'clock, at which time the boats assembled near the yacht Matanga, off Mechanics' Bay. J<rom here the procession went up the harbour as far a3 the Northern Co.'s steamer lona, off Freeman's' Bay, which vessel they rounded, the arrangement being as follow: —Private boats, whaleboats, four-oared string-test gigs, pair-oars and single scullers, and numerous smaller boats, sailing boats being on each flank. The boats went up the harbour in single file, returning to the Matanga, and then abreast to the lona again, where they dispersed. The order of the clubs was by seniority, the following being the order and the number of boats engaged in the procession North Shore, 5; Waitemata, 4; St. George's 6; West End, 3; City, 3; Auckland, 10. The whole affair was a very pleasing sight, and was viewed by a large number of people, who had assembled on the wharves ana other places. The Auckland Rowing Club will hold a series of races on Saturday, November 5. The following crews will competeFouroared outriggers : Wallace (stroke), Laird Allen, Brown ; Broberg (stroke), Myers, Rudd, Binney; Creeth (stroke), Hooper, J. M. Scott, Gray ; Minniit (stroke), Gramond, Busby, Smith. Novice pairs: Adams and Ashton, Turner and Cashel, Roberton and Howard, Scott and Barron. Handicap sculls : Gibbons, O'Meara, Rose, Henderson, Keefe, H. Dacre, Copeland, W. Minnitt. NEW ZEALAND AMATEUR ROWING ASSOCIATION. [BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, Sunday. The sixth annual meeting of the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association was held last night, Mr. F. E. Hyman, of Christchurch, vice-president of the Association, in the chair. Thirty-one clubs were represented by delegates. The report stated that the Association was now able to exercise its influence over the whole of the clubs in the colony. The balance-sheet showed that there was a credit balance of £41 Is 9d. The election of the Manawatu Rowing Club (Foxton) and the Y.M.C.A. Rowing Club (Christchurch) was confirmed. It was decided, " That on the Queen's Drive Boating Club (Port Chalmers) and the North End Boating Club (Dnnedin) complying with the requirements of the Association they should be admitted to membership. The election of office-bearers resulted as follows :—Patron, His Excellency the Earl of Glasgow; president, Mr. A. E. G. Rhodes, M.H.R., Canterbury; vice-presi-dents, Messrs. W. H. Field (Wellington) and W. Rod well (Wanganui); secretary and treasurer, Mr. A. S. Biss (Wellington). Mr. M. C. Barnett, the retiring secretary and treasurer, was voted a sum of ten guineas in recognition of his past services to the Association. It was unanimously decided " That the season's championships be rowed on Lake Forsyth, near Christchurch, on February 14th next." A sub-committee was appointed to consider the constitution, rules, and regulations of the Association with a view of altering them. The motion by the Waitemata Boating Club, claiming the first prize in the inrigged gig race rowed at Pine Island on the 12th of December last, was rejected, after an exhaustive discussion, by an overwhelming majority. The motion by the Cure Boating Club (Kaiapoi), to the effect that the rules be amended so as to provide that all championship races, except single sculls, be rowed in boats with coxswains, was lost on the voices. It was decided, " That according to the constitution Mr. Peter Fletcher, of the Port Chalmers Rowing Club, was still an amateur, and did not require to be re-instated." Messrs. A. H. Hunter, A. D. Paterson, of the Dunedin Amateur Boating Club, were re-instated as amateurs." It was decided, " That the applications of Messrs. J. McGrath, (J. Hogan, J. H. Clarke, W. Douglas, and R. Proctor, all of the Dunedin Amateur Boating Club, for re-instatement, be allowed, on their giving assurance that they had not received any * pecuniary benefit from rowing." The application of the Auckland Rowing Club for the re-iustatement of Mr. G. Barrett was rejected by a large majority. The judge at the Championship Regatta at Nelson wrote stating that the protest of the Star Boating Club against the race for the champion double sculls being awarded to the Wellington Rowing Club was made by the captain of the Star Club. The chairman pointed out that, according to rule 12 of the laws of boat racing, a competitor must lodge the protest himself before leaving the boat, and the said race must, therefore, be awarded to the Wellington Rowing Club's crews. In answer to a query by the Waitemata Boating Club delegate, the chairman expressed the opinion that Mr. M. Keefe, of Auckland, in entering for, but not competing in, the recent sculling carnival at the Parramatta River, New South Wales, was not disqualified from rowing as an amateur.